
Rnn fr . Ki <3. 5 
GspglrtU? 



CDEXHIGHT DEPOSE 



THE HEALTHY CHILD 
FROM TWO TO SEVEN 



*&gs 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO • DALLAS 
ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN & CO., Limited 

LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE MACMILLAN CO. OP CANADA, Ltd. 

TORONTO 



THE HEALTHY CHILD 
FROM TWO TO SEVEN 



A Handbook for Parents, Nurses 
and Workers for Child Welfare 



Containing 
The Fundamental Principles of Nutrition 
and Physical Care, including Sections on 
Child Nature, Training and Education, 
and Safeguarding the Nervous System 
during the Preschool Years. 



BY 
FRANCIS HAMILTON MACCARTHY, M.D. 

Assistant Professor of Diseases of Children, Boston University 



J£eto I?orfe 
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

1922 

All rights reserved 



PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 



^ 






Copyright, 1922, 
By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. 



Set up and electrotyped. Published March, 1922 



APR -5 1922 



FERRIS PRINTING COMPANY 
NEW YORK 



©CLA659468 

'WO J 



>v 



"It becomes increasingly clear that a better society must come 
through better children, and that the chief importance of social, 
economic, and vital conditions lies in their influence on little chil- 
dren/'— From Editorial in "The Outlook" N. Y. 



PREFACE 

The gfeatest nations of the world are coming 
to realize that the greatness and power of any 
nation must always be dependent upon the in- 
tegrity of the home and the health of the child. 

A great war tests the strength and power of 
a nation to the utmost. Preparation for war is 
searching in its revelations of national strength 
or weakness. 

How has it come about that of the hundreds 
of thousands of young men appearing before the 
examining boards of army and navy, represent- 
ing the very flower of the youth of our country, 
a very large proportion were rejected because 
of physical and mental unsoundness? 

Careful investigation has shown that more 
than half the defects causing rejection were pre- 
ventable, and that nearly all- these defects had 
their inception during the years of early child- 
hood. 

The Children's Year Campaign inaugurated 
by the Children's Bureau also demonstrated the 
fact that a very large proportion of the nation's 
children suffer from malnutrition, underweight 
and physical handicaps. 

As one makes daily rounds in the children's 
wards of a large hospital, the impression be- 
comes more and more firmly fixed that much of 
the illness and suffering and deformity of the 



viii PREFACE 

little folks might have been prevented by proper 
care during the first years of life. 

Out of the turmoil of international strife has 
again come the revelation that as a people we 
are lacking in the conservation of our most 
priceless resource, of life in its beginnings, of the 
health and well-being of the nation's children. 

Are the children of today to be the defective 
men and women of tomorrow? Have we not 
here a mighty challenge to unite in the great 
task of developing a stronger and more robust 
childhood? 

To work for children is, from many points of 
view, the most important and most interesting 
of all tasks. Constant companionship with chil- 
dren, studying and endeavoring to understand 
the child nature, and treating them when ill, is 
a rare privilege. The present book has grown 
out of such companionship and work extending 
over many years. It deals with the care and 
nurture of children during the foundation years, 
before school life begins. 

Whatever else, the recent chaos of war may 
have taught, certainly one great lesson which 
stands out clearly and distinctly is that a better 
order of things must come through higher ideals 
of parenthood, and from stronger and better 
children. That this book may have some useful 
part in the great crusade now being carried on 
to build up a stronger race of men and women, 
is the fervent hope of the writer. 



CONTENTS 

Page 
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION 1 

CHAPTER II. THE HOME AND SURROUND- 
INGS. 

The city child handicapped 9 

Sunshine and Fresh Air in the Home 9 

Ventilation in the Home 10 

Heating the House — various methods — Health 

First 12 

The Children's Room , 13 

CHAPTER III. FOOD FOR BODY-BUILDING. 

The under nourished child 19 

Many children under weight 19 

Under nourished child always below par . 19 

Table of Weights and Heights of Children 20 

Facts about weight and height 21 

The father's part 22 

Training children in fundamentals of right living.... 22 

Causes of under-weight in children , 25 

Food for Growing Children 27 

Milk the most perfect food for children 27 

Care of Milk ..„ 29 

Cereals .... 30 

Eggs 31 

Breads, crackers and cakes .♦ 31 

Butter, cream and other fats 32 

Broths and soups 33 

Meat and Fish - 33 

Meat stews ...........*.,„ 34 

ix 



x CONTENTS 

Page 

Vegetables; cooking of 35 

Fruits 37 

Desserts and Sweets 38 

Feeding During the Second Year 39 

Diet-list for Healthy child during the Thirteenth 

and Fourteenth months 41 

Schedule for feeding healthy children from Fif- 
teenth to Eighteenth Months Inclusive 42 

Schedule for Children from Nineteenth to Twenty- 
fourth Month Inclusive 43 

Dietary for Children from Third to Sixth Year 

Inclusive 45 

When Children have Indigestion 48 

Acute Indigestion 48 

Chronic Indigestion and the right kind of food 49 

CHAPTER IV. SLEEP AND REST. 

Sleep a fundamental necessity 55 

Number of hours sleep required at different ages 56 

Daily nap discontinued too soon 56 

Time for daily nap 57 

Sleep during the school years 58 

Conditions favorable to healthy sleep 59 

Bedtime stories 59 

Bed and bedroom 60 

Sleeping out doors and sleeping bags 61 

Causes of disturbed sleep 62 

CHAPTER V. PLAY AND GROWTH. 

Play a fundamental need in the life of the child 67 

Importance of play not generally appreciated 67 

Difference between the adult's conception of play 
and that of the child 68 



CONTENTS xi 

Page 

Play activities of children 68 

Children are explorers and creators 69 

Small tasks for children 70 

Parents and children — comrades 70 

Play materials and occupations for children 71 

The Sand-box, the making and equipping of 72 

Making houses and keeping house 73 

A tool-box and its contents 75 

Little girls and the out door life 76 

Cold weather sports 76 

Teaching children to swim 77 

Gardening, garden tools for children 78 

Companionship of other children needed 79 

The City Child; materials and tools for play 79 

Indoor play materials and occupations 80 

The Constructive Instinct and Building Blocks 83 

CHAPTER VI. CHILD-NATURE; TRAINING 
AND EDUCATION. 

Parent — Teachers 87 

Parents have the greatest teaching opportunity 87 

Early years afford the richest soil 89 

Characteristics of the child nature 90 

Natural independence 90 

Changeableness .., 93 

Slowness of Perception 94 

Individual temperament 94 

Obedience and Self-control 95 

Children learn much by imitation of others 98 

Instant obedience not always possible 100 

Uselessness of argument 101 

Overuse of the word "Don't" .102 



xii CONTENTS 

Page 

Punishment, common mistakes in training 103 

Methods of Correction 106 

Children need suitable occupation 108 

Teach the joy of work well done 109 

Truthfulness 109 

Education: They learn by observation and imita- 
tion 1 1 1 

Companionship with parents in Outdoor World 113 

Instruction concerning Origin of Life 113 

Answer questions simply and frankly 114 

Instruction concerning personal cleanliness 117 

CHAPTER VII. STEADY NERVES AND 
HEALTHY MIND. 

Disorders of nerves and mind on the increase 121 

Many nerve disorders begin during childhood 121 

Need of preventive work in the home 121 

Heredity and environment considered 122 

Importance of suitable home and wise training.... 122 

Instability of child's nervous system 122 

Factors of vital importance 123 

Girls as well as boys need outdoor sports 125 

Mental and physical hardening .126 

Must learn not to be over-sensitive 126 

Self-mastery to be learned early 127 

Cheerfulness and good-nature contagious 128 

Dark moods and irritability unhealthy 129 

Learn to laugh at small hurts and difficulties 130 

Children should have no fear of darkness 131 

Teach them to have faith instead of fear 132 

Over-stimulation and precociousness dangerous 132 

Importance of suitable play activities 134 



CONTENTS xiii 

Page 

Children need each other 134 

Children reflect the life about them 135 

CHAPTER VIII. CARE OF THE CHILD'S 
BODY. 

Care of the skin 141 

Bathing 142 

Bathing to prevent taking cold 144 

Soaps and powders 145 

Care of the genital organs 147 

Care of the hair 147 

Care of the eyes 148 

Care of the ears 150 

Care of the nose and throat .. 151 

Care of the mouth and teeth 153 

Irregular teeth and causes of 154 

Food and the teeth 156 

Keeping the teeth clean , 158 

The Child's Feet, prevention of deformities 160 

CHAPTER IX. COMMON DISEASES AND DIS- 
ORDERS OF CHILDHOOD. 

A new point of view in regard to "Children's Di- 
seases" 167 

Many children crippled by the contagious diseases.. 167 

Measles and German Measles 169 

Whooping cough 170 

Chicken pox 171 

Mumps, scarlet fever 172 

Diphtheria 173 



xiv CONTENTS 

Page 
PREVENTION OF CONTAGIOUS DISEASES ....175 

A community conscience needed 177 

The Schick test and safe-guarding child against 

Diphtheria 178 

Vaccination 178 

The Care of the Sick Child 180 

COMMON DISORDERS OF CHILDHOOD 181 

Constipation and its prevention 181 

"Worms" Causes and Prevention 183 

Bed wetting; causes and prevention 184 

Convulsions 186 

Earache 188 

Croup » 189 

Colds and Prevention 190 

Adenoid Growths 192 

Enlarged tonsils »,.... < 194 

Thumb and Finger Sucking 194 

Nail-biting and self-abuse 196 

CHAPTER X. COMMON EMERGENCIES OF 
CHILDHOOD. 

Burns of different kinds ; first aid 201 

Wounds of various kinds; first aid , 203 

Bleeding from nose 208 

Foreign bodies in nostrils and ear 209 

Injuries to the eye 210 

Swallowing of foreign bodies 213 

Drowning accidents : First Aid 214 

Prevention of drowning accidents 216 

Accidents from poisoning, household precautions.. ..217 

First aid treatment 218 

Common poisons, List of, Treatment .... L ....219 



THE HEALTHY CHILD 
FROM TWO TO SEVEN 



THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

CHAPTER I 

INTRODUCTION 

Children are so utterly helpless and dependent 
during the first year of life that the importance 
of good care at this time is quite generally ap- 
preciated, but after the first year, and during 
the five or six years previous to entering school, 
many children show a lack of the right sort of 
training and good care, so essential for the de- 
velopment of healthy childhood. 

It is safe to say that the chief cause of the 
defects of constitution discovered by govern- 
ment physicians while examining men for enlist- 
ment in the army, was a lack of oversight and 
good care during the years of early childhood. 
Teachers, principals of schools and school physi- 
cians testify that many children when they first 
come to school have pale faces, thin bodies and 
heavy eyes, showing the lack of proper food, in- 
sufficient sleep, and the appearance of being too 
closely housed. 

There is no doubt that mothers and fathers 
sacrifice much for their children, and because of 
the little folks in their own home, feel tenderly 
toward all children. It is not lack of parental 
affection. It is rather parental preoccupation 



2 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

with other matters, and with very many parents, 
the ever pressing struggle to keep family ex- 
penses within family income. 

As parents, however, we must ever keep in 
mind one vitally important fact, that all the 
time while we are so very busy with the prob- 
lems of living, the children are growing and de- 
veloping just the same; they are receiving im- 
pressions of the everyday life about them; they 
are being shaped or moulded according to the 
care and training they receive. 

There is no standing still with childhood; chil- 
dren will grow even under most unfavorable 
conditions and surroundings, but it will be a 
stunted growth, something like a plant shut 
away from fresh air and sunshine. 

Whatever qualities children inherit from par- 
ents may be modified by their surroundings 
either to their advantage or disadvantage. For 
perfect development of body and mind certain 
fundamental conditions are essential. It is every 
child's birthright to have pure air, nourishing 
food, sleep and rest, plenty of room for play, and 
careful guidance during these pre-school years. 
Just as the plant needs proper soil, water and 
sunshine if it is to bloom and bear fruit, so the 
human plant must have sunshine, fresh air and 
good food in order to reach its full development. 

The fathers and mothers are the arbiters of 
the child's destiny; upon them depend whether 
the child is to be strong and sturdy, and face 



INTRODUCTION 3 

the world with full equipment of body and mind, 
or whether it is to be a weakling, always at a 
disadvantage when the tasks and tests of school 
and after life come, because of lack of early 
training and wise care. 

Here then are four or five years full of splen- 
did possibilities for the building of strong, ro- 
bust bodies. It is a period of freedom from care 
and responsibility. It should be a time of prepa- 
ration for the more exacting and confining duties 
of school and adult life. 

Now, if ever, is the time for life in God's out 
of doors, plenty of wholesome food, careful 
training, and long nights of refreshing sleep. 
Later care and training can never take the place 
of painstaking, constructive building during the 
pre-school years. 

As parents we must not only adore our chil- 
dren; we must love them wisely. It is not so 
important that little daughter shall be pretty 
as it is that she shall have rosy cheeks, clear 
eyes, good blood, bone and muscle; if she has 
these last the first will come as a matter of 
course, for there is no more beautiful sight than 
a child whose every feature and action betokens 
perfect health of body and mind. 

The parent's part is to provide healthy en- 
vironment, carefully chosen food, and wise train- 
ing. Let it no longer be said that there is too 
much haphazard bringing up of children. Let 
our efforts no longer be without definite plan- 



4 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

ning and direction; let us shape and plan our 
course. The ground is good. No soil is so pro- 
ductive; no culture so fascinating; no work so 
great; no task so worthy of the best effort and 
talent of men and women as that of having a 
part in the upbringing of sturdy children, and 
leading them along upland and sunny ways. 



THE HOME AND SURROUNDINGS 



'Everyone in his own house, and God in all of them." — Cervantes. 



"In the homes of America are born the children of America, and 
from them go out into American life American men and women. 
They go out with the stamp of these homes upon them, and only 
as these homes are what they should be, will ,the children be what 
they should be." — J. G. Holland. 



CHAPTER II 
THE HOME AND SURROUNDINGS 

Where shall the home be established, in the 
country where there is space and outlook, or in 
the city with its crowded brick apartment houses 
and walled in, narrow, paved streets? The city 
is no place to found a real home. To be sure 
there are a few parks and open spaces, but in 
most cities the parks which really have space 
and breadth of view are some miles away from 
where the average family finds it convenient to 
live. 

It is possible to make a fairly comfortable 
stopping place in a city apartment, and a baby 
may thrive fairly well for the first year or two 
of life, but a child old enough to be on its feet 
needs more freedom than such living conditions 
permit, and should spend a large part of the time 
out of doors. 

A large city is no place for real living. Rents 
are so high that only large incomes can com- 
mand an apartment or house worthy to be called 
a home. The parents themselves cannot keep 
well and feel vigorous in a city apartment unless 
the family income is sufficiently generous to pay 
a large rent for an apartment in the more open, 

7 



8 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

cleaner streets near an open space or park. A 
mother and baby obliged to live in a small city 
apartment cannot live a free, natural, healthy 
life, and must inevitably suffer for lack of out 
of door air and sunshine, for even sunshine is 
expensive in the city, apartments on the sunny 
side of buildings bringing much higher rents. 

Now when city children find their feet and 
commence to look about, life is indeed a shut-in 
sort of existence. Apartment houses are not 
built with little folks in mind. Indeed, many 
owners openly advertise the fact that no children 
will be allowed on the premises. There are no 
yards, even porches are exceptional, no place to 
run about, no green grass, no fields, no flowers, 
no birds. In the summer, hot brick walls shut 
in the hot stone-paved streets which are the only 
playgrounds, the child's life being varied some- 
what by an occasional trip to the park or sea- 
shore in crowded cars. 

It is worse in the winter. Any cold day in 
winter little white faces may be seen pressed 
sorrowfully against the window-panes, gazing 
wistfully out upon the city streets. They are 
the little folks between two and six. Their fath- 
ers are at work, and their mothers busy with the 
baby, or they may also be at work to help pay 
the high rent. The windows are apt to be closed 
and locked to prevent the children from falling 
out and the cold from coming in, for many apart- 
ments have but little heat. 



THE HOME AND SURROUNDINGS 9 

Many such children play very little; they be- 
come thin, pale, dull, listless and undeveloped; 
they are all too silent and sober for little people. 
Pneumonia and tuberculosis find them ready 
victims. 

Do parents want their children to live under 
such conditions? Children living in the city are 
handicapped right at the beginning of life, and 
should not be allowed needlessly to suffer such 
hindrance in their development. Better by far 
to live out of the city where a house with a yard 
is available, and where pure air and sunshine 
are abundant. The house may be small and lack 
some of the comforts and modern conveniences, 
but if the water is pure, and the children can 
spend much of the time out of doors, they will 
be much better off than they would be living in 
the city. The water-supply should be carefully 
investigated in regard to contamination, and 
careful consideration should be given the sani- 
tary arrangements. 

SUNSHINE AND FRESH AIR IN THE HOME 

Sunshine and fresh air are absolutely neces- 
sary for life and growth. The air in our homes 
is constantly being deprived of its life-giving 
qualities by the breathing of those present, by 
gases from the fires, from kerosene and gas 
light, by dust and smoke, and particularly to- 
bacco smoke. To sweep out these impurities and 



10 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

purify the air, fresh air and sunshine should have 
constant and free access to the living rooms. 

It is desirable if possible that the house should 
face the South or Southeast in order that the 
rooms may be flooded with sunshine. Windows 
and outside doors must be depended upon as the 
chief means of ventilation in the average home. 
Good ventilation means that the air in the house 
should be kept in gentle motion, even though 
imperceptible, that it should be warmed or cooled 
to the right temperature, and have the proper 
degree of humidity and freshness. 

The air in many living rooms is kept too warm 
and dry. The lining membrane of nose and 
throat becomes too dry, and the body susceptible 
to cold. A dry heat and closed windows are 
constant sources of nose and throat disorders. 
The temperature in a living room should not be 
over 68 or 70. 

Every living room in the house should be com- 
pletely flushed with pure out-of-door air at least 
once every twenty-four hours. The best way 
to ventilate a room is ta open windows on oppo- 
site sides, thus producing a current of air. If 
there is considerable wind it will speedily fill 
every part of the house with clean fresh air, but 
on a still day it will take longer. 

To prevent the cold air from chilling the floor 
a window board may be placed in the opening 
when the lower sash is raised a few inches, thus 
permitting the cool air to enter the room be- 



THE HOME AND SURROUNDINGS 11 

tween the two sashes, while the heated air passes 
out through a slight opening at the top of the 
window. 

In colder parts of the country it is difficult to 
keep the house completely warm and at the same 
time keep the air fresh. During the day the 
rooms may be aired when not in use. Such 
rooms must be warmed before allowing the 
children to use them. Bedrooms may be thor- 
oughly aired during the day even on the coldest 
days, and the playroom or sitting room may be 
aired while the children are outdoors or taking 
their nap. 

At night the bedroom window should be 
opened at least an inch or two even in the cold- 
est weather. A good way to ventilate a bed- 
room is to cover an ordinary window-screen with 
one or two thicknesses of cheese-cloth, and in- 
sert in the open window. This will afford pro- 
tection against a too sudden inrush of cold air. 
Sleeping bags are also useful, and a folding 
screen can be used to protect the children from 
drafts. If well covered the children will sleep 
better and wake in the morning with bright eyes 
and keen appetites. 

Children are much less likely to contract colds 
in rooms through which a gentle current of air 
is constantly passing than in still air and closed- 
up, over-heated rooms. But children need to get 
out of doors as well as to breathe fresh air in 
the home. Even in cold or stormy weather 



12 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

when they cannot enjoy outdoor life, a sheltered 
but sunny porch will make it possible for the 
children to spend many happy hours in the open 
air, while in the milder months they should live 
out of doors as much as possible. 

HEATING THE HOUSE 

The ideal system of heating is one that will 
keep the house sufficiently warm to permit hav- 
ing the windows slightly open much of the time. 
In apartment houses where families do not have 
control of the heat, a constant even temperature 
is unusual; rooms are often overheated, and fre- 
quently have no heat at all for two or three 
hours during the day. A system that requires 
tightly closed windows in order to keep occu- 
pants of living rooms warm is certainly unsatis- 
factory. 

Houses in the United States are usually heated 
by indirect radiation, — that is, by hot water, 
steam or hot air; or by direct radiation from 
stoves or open fire places. Steam or hot water 
heated houses are apt to be overheated, and the 
air in the rooms too dry. Shallow pans of water 
placed on registers, radiators or stoves will help 
to keep the air moist. 

Oil or gas heaters are objectionable in that 
they consume much larger quantities of oxygen, 
but may be useful when no other means of heat- 
ing is available, or when quick heat is needed, but 
are suitable for temporary use only. Care should 



THE HOME AND SURROUNDINGS 13 

be taken to guard children against accident if 
such stoves are used. 

An open fire place is a most useful addition to 
any heating system. It is an excellent ventilator, 
and for the cool days of fall and late spring when 
it is not cold enough to start the furnace, an open 
fire removes the chill and gives just the right 
amount of warmth. In front of the open fire 
should be placed a stong wire screen to protect 
the children against accident. 

But the fact that the open fire provides 
warmth and ventilation is not all that can be said 
in its favor. Given a home-like living room in 
which is a good-sized fire-place, what wonderful 
possibilities it holds for family gatherings in 
front of its friendly light and warmth! What 
a jolly place it is for the telling of bedtime 
stories, for popping corn, and family counsel! 
What more beautiful sight than the faces of 
little children eagerly listening to a story told 
in front of the open fire, its cheerful blaze 
lighting up the childish faces and reflected in 
bright eyes, as they look away into childhood's 
land of make believe. 

The memory of such happy hours remains 
with children always, and because of such happy 
times, home and parents become increasingly 
precious with the passing years. 

THE CHILDREN'S ROOM 

It is desirable that some provision should be 



14 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

made in the home for the little people, a place 
of their own, at least a corner of the living 
room, for playthings and books. In some homes 
the children's sleeping room is arranged for use 
partly as a playroom; in other homes a room is 
set aside especially as a playroom. 

There are still other homes where no provi- 
sion is made for wholesome play. It is mani- 
festly a great misfortune for little folks to be 
compelled to live through childhood surrounded 
with furnishings entirely for the use of grown- 
ups, with no place for dolls, doll-houses, scrap- 
books, balls, and all the various and sundry 
treasures which go to make up the small boy's 
and little girl's world. Certainly the task of 
keeping the living room tidy and the care of 
the children would be much more simple if 
some definite planning were done to provide 
suitable places for childhood belongings. Chil- 
dren learn while they play, and the more intel- 
ligent the planning for daily living and playing, 
the better the children will be. 

A sunny playroom with simple inexpensive 
furnishings becomes a blessed place for the 
children. The rooms should contain only neces- 
sary furniture of simplest design, easy to keep 
clean, and not too expensive. Bare painted 
or hardwood floor with an inexpensive, cheer- 
ful colored rug is preferable to carpeted floor, 
and walls painted some quiet but cheerful color 
which can be washed, are preferable to papered 
walls. 



THE HOME AND SURROUNDINGS 15 

Plain curtains without ruffles or lace arc 
better than those which are fancy or expensive. 
Windows should be screened to keep out flies. 
Chairs, tables, bookcases, shelves and beds 
should be low and not too large. Strong, low, 
plain tables, and low pine chairs serve the pur- 
pose, and shelves and drawers for playthings 
will encourage the habit of keeping things in 
place. 

Such an equipment in a bright, sunny room 
having plenty of fresh air, and warmed to 68 
F. in winter can be provided at small expense, 
and parents will have cause to rejoice in seeing 
their children happy and contented. 



FOOD FOR BODY BUILDING 



"Health and good estate of body are above all gold." — Ecclesas- 
ticus. 



"Our chief ambition is for the nurture of our children.' 
Josephus. 



"The errors of parents the gods turn to the undoing of their 
children." — Euripedes. 



CHAPTER III 
FOOD FOR BODY BUILDING 

From the very beginning of life the child who 
is to be strong and robust must have sufficient 
and suitable food. Many children are eight to 
ten pounds underweight; indeed, it is safe to 
say that one child out of every three or four is 
underweight. 

Children who are underweight are apt to be 
pale, have flabby muscles, and an irritable dis- 
position. Quite frequently they are punished 
for being irritable and peevish when in reality 
they are suffering from lack of proper nutrition. 
Such children cannot be expected to be cheerful 
and contented; they are below par; they are 
not well. Their resistance to disease is low, 
and later when they enter school they are apt 
to contract the contagious diseases. Children 
who are several pounds underweight are often 
retarded in their development, and backward in 
their studies. 

Weight is such an important index of a 
child's nutrition, it seems best to insert at this 
place the following table of weights and heights, 
in order that parents may have some standard 
for guidance in judging the condition of their 
children. 

19 



20 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 



TAB 


LE OF WEIGHTS AND 


HEIGHTS 


. OF 




HEALTHY CHILDREN =■ 




Boys 






Girls 


Weight 


Height 


Age 




Weight 


Height 


pounds 


inches 






pounds 


inches 


7K 


20% 


Birth 


7% 


2oy 2 


16% 


25% 


6 months 


is% 


25 


2\y 2 


29 


12 


a 


21 


28 


24% 


30% 


18 


it 


24 


30 


27y 2 


32% 


2 years 


27 


32^ 


32 


36 


3 ' 


a 


31 


35H 


36 


38% 


4 


a 


35 


38 


41 


41% 


5 


a 


39y 2 


41J4 


45 


44 


6 


a 


43% 


43J4 


49% 


46 


7 


a 


47^ 


45M 


54 


48% 


8 


a 


52 


48 


59% 


49% 


9 


a 


57 


49% 


65y 2 


52 


10 


a 


63y 2 


51% 


72 


54 


11 


a 


69y 2 


53% 


79 


ssy 


12 


a 


81 


57 


88 


58 


13 


a 


91 


58% 


99 


60% 


14 


tt 


100 


60 


110 


62% 


15 


a 


108 


61% 


123 


65 


16 


a 


113 


61^ 


In using the 


table it 


is to 


be remembered 


that the 


figures : 


represent average weights and 


heights 


of several thousand public school chil- 



a. — The figures for the first five years are weights without 
clothes, and are derived from Dr. Emmett Holt's book 
"Diseases of Infancy and Childhood". The figures for height 
and weight of children from five to sixteen years are based on 
observations made by Bowditch upon several thousand school 
children of Boston; these weights include ordinary clothing. 



FOOD FOR BODY BUILDING 21 

dren living under all sorts of conditions in a 
large city. There are many children from five 
to sixteen years of age having proper food and 
wise care, who weigh from one to four or five 
pounds more than these figures indicate. In- 
crease in weight and height varies a great deal 
in different children, depending upon heredity, 
conditions surrounding the mother before the 
child is born, and the care and kind of food the 
child receives after birth and throughout child- 
hood. 

Lack of carefully chosen, body-building food 
during these foundation years will surely result 
in a weakened constitution, and be a handicap 
to children during the school years and later 
adult life. It is highly important, then, that 
parents should know something about food 
values in relation to body-building, and that 
they should carefully consider what foods are 
suitable for children at different ages. 

Parental love is deep and abiding, but not 
always wise in its expression. Love for chil- 
dren fulfils its highest office in earnest endeavor 
to do only what is best for them, in order that 
they may grow and thrive, and develop into 
healthy, robust children. 

Nor should these matters be entirely turned 
over to the mother. Much has been said and 
written about mother love, and the importance 
of good mothering, and this is as it should be, 
for who can measure the tremendous impor- 



22 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

tance of the mother's care and influence, but 
something should also be said in regard to the 
importance of thoughtful and intelligent father- 
hood. The job of being a good father is worthy 
the best thought and study of every man. 

So it would seem to be important that the 
father as well as the mother should know some- 
thing about what is proper food for his chil- 
dren. Many fathers do know. Mistakes are 
not usually made because of not knowing what 
is right or from lack of affection, but from 
preoccupation with other matters, and the feel- 
ing that the care and training of children is 
the mother's work. No greater mistake can 
be made. It is a man's job as well as a wo- 
man's, and if the father does not attend to his 
part of it, the children will later on in life show 
that lack of broad training which marks the 
well bred child. 

TRAINING CHILDREN IN FUNDAMENTALS 

There are certain fundamental principles in 
regard to the feeding of children which deserve 
careful consideration. First, — it is not so im- 
portant what children like or dislike in the way 
of food, as it is that the food is suitable for 
the age and digestive powers, that it is nourish- 
ing, well cooked and given at regular times. 

Children have not the same powers of diges- 
tion as adults any more than they have the 
same ability to think and judge as adults. They 



FOOD FOR BODY BUILDING 23 

cannot eat everything on the table; children 
know nothing about the body-building qualities 
of food; they are guided solely by their desires, 
which are capricious and changeable; their 
judgment is undeveloped, and they are unable 
to choose wisely. Therefore, parents should 
know the value of different foods, and should 
choose for the children foods which will build 
blood, bone and muscle. Children should not be 
asked what they want to eat. The best way is 
to place before them without comment simple, 
nourishing food at regular times, keeping des- 
sert or fruit out of sight until the plate is 
cleaned of hearty food. 

Second, — children cannot be expected to be 
hungry at mealtimes if they have been indulged 
in sweets, soda, ice-cream, fruit and other food 
between meals. A very common mistake when 
children refuse to eat their regular food is to 
urge them to eat, or to tempt them with spe- 
cially prepared food which they are unable to 
digest. This is bad practice, as children will 
acquire a taste for such dainties, and lose appe- 
tite for simple, wholesome food. 

Nor should anything be given between meals 
except water when the regular food is refused 
at mealtime. Healthy children who have plenty 
of sleep and outdoor air, and are not allowed 
to eat between meals, are usually sufficiently 
hungry to eat any wholesome food placed be- 
fore them. If such food is refused it is best 



24 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

not to give anything until the next meal, when 
the healthy appetite will assert itself. 

It is vitally important that children should 
learn from earliest childhood to eat whatever 
is placed before them of the staple, wholesome 
foods. Children will not only be more robust 
and sturdy, but both they and their parents will 
be saved much future trouble and humiliation. 

Acute and chronic indigestion with conse- 
quent loss of weight and weakness, are almost 
certain to follow faulty feeding. The best way 
is to give only the regular diet suitable for the 
age. If the child is not allowed to taste food 
improper for its age, it will not learn to ask 
for it. 

It is also essential and part of a child's train- 
ing, that it should eat only at regular meal- 
times. Food of any kind, or fruit and candy 
given between meals becomes a burden to the 
stomach, destroys the appetite, causes serious 
indigestion and loss of weight. The stomach 
needs the time between meals to digest the 
food and rest before the next meal. 

Children are apt to spend pennies for cakes, 
doughnuts, candies and pickles; these are eaten 
between meals and destroy the appetite for 
nourishing food offered at the regular meals. 
Just how long children will appear well under 
these conditions will depend upon the care they 
receive in other respects, but sooner or later 
digestion becomes impaired, children have bad 
dreams, lose much sleep, and become thin and 



FOOD FOR BODY BUILDING 25 

pale. It is such children who develop the un- 
healthy condition of the bowels favoring the 
production of intestinal parasites or worms, 
suffer from weakness of the bladder, and be- 
cause of their run down condition, become sus- 
ceptible to colds and the contagious diseases. 

When children commence to have meals at 
the table with parents, some training in proper 
habits of eating will be necessary. Children do 
not naturally chew their food thoroughly, and 
unless taught otherwise, are apt to form the 
habit of bolting half chewed food with milk 
or water. 

A very common cause of underweight in 
children is that they frequently hurry away 
from the table to play or to school without 
taking time to eat properly or to eat enough. 
This is especially true in regard to little girls 
who frequently refuse to eat any breakfast. 
Such habits are very apt to continue into the 
school years with the result that children suffer 
from underweight, nervous irritability and 
weakness. Their progress in school is also re- 
tarded. 

During these early years when so much en- 
ergy is expended in constant physical activity 
and rapid growth, children should not be al- 
lowed to go to school or leave the table for play 
without eating their breakfast any more than a 
man should start his day's work on an empty. 
stomach. 



26 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

The first thing to do then is to be sure that 
all rules of right living are being followed. 
There should be no eating between meals; this 
means no fruit, candy, bread, milk — nothing 
should be allowed between meals except plenty 
of water. On the other hand, if the condition 
is reversed, and the child is hungry and eats 
well at every meal and wants a glass of milk 
about 3.00 or 4.00 P. M., there can be no objec- 
tion to such addition to the diet. 

Children must have plenty of fresh air; lack- 
ing this, both in and out of doors, is a very 
common cause of lack of appetite. They must 
also have plenty of sleep ; from twelve to four- 
teen hours at night and an hour or two during 
the day is about right. 

If such rules are carefully followed most 
healthy children will be ready for each of the 
three meals. If in addition to careful regula- 
tion of habits, a few words of explanation is 
given at some suitable moment as to why 
breakfast should be eaten before starting for 
play or school, the meal will frequently be 
eaten without protest. 

With some such training as here outlined 
children will learn what is wholesome and 
nutritious, and will gradually develop a liking 
for simple, substantial food which will remain 
with them all their lives. On the other hand, 
unless some gentle firmness is brought to bear 
in these matters, children are apt to acquire 



FOOD FOR BODY BUILDING 27> 

likes and dislikes in regard to food, and irregu- 
lar habits of living which will not only become 
a source of much annoyance, but will also result 
in under nourished and weak bodies later in 
life. It must also be remembered that this 
early home training in the fundamentals of 
right living is the foundation of the child's edu- 
cation, and no amount of later training can 
make up for any lack of it during these early 
years. 

FOOD FOR GROWING CHILDREN 

It has been proven that human beings thrive 
best on a mixed diet of animal and vegetable 
foods because from such a diet is obtained the 
materials needed by the body for growth and 
repair. 

A carefully chosen diet is one which supplies 
all these materials in right proportion in order 
that the growing child will lack none of the 
essential food substances. Before giving diet 
lists and schedules for feeding children at differ- 
ent ages during the pre-school period, it will 
be well to consider some of the most important 
foods for growing children. 

MILK 

First and foremost must be mentioned milk. 
No food can take the place of milk in the 
feeding of children. When parents commence 



28 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

to dilute milk with cocoa, tea and coffee they 
are depriving the children of the best body- 
building food, and feeding them chaff. To be 
sure, cocoa is a valuable food, and is not to 
be compared with tea and coffee, which have 
no food value, and should under no circum- 
stances be given to children, but cocoa can 
never take the place of milk as a body-builder. 

Milk is the most perfect food for children. 
No one food contains to such a degree all the 
elements needed for the growing body. Every 
child needs a pint and a half to a quart of 
pure, clean milk every day in the year. A 
greater part of this is usually given a glassful 
at meals or served with cereals. 

Milk is often classed with water, tea or coffee 
as a beverage by those who do not understand 
its food value. This is a serious mistake, and 
one which frequently causes trouble; milk is 
often used as a beverage between meals and 
causes indigestion and constipation. Usually 
it should be given only at mealtimes, the one 
exception being when a glass of milk is given 
once between breakfast and dinner or dinner 
and supper, when the child is really hungry. 

Some children especially fond of milk will 
drink a whole glass of milk at once at the 
beginning of the meal and then refuse to take 
sufficient other food. It is best for them to 
take it a sip at a time, or near the end of 
the meal. 



FOOD FOR BODY BUILDING 29 

Cow's milk should not only be pure, but the 
fresher it is, and the less handling it has con- 
sistent with cleanliness and keeping it, the 
better. Fresh, clean, raw or unheated milk is 
an ideal food for children, but if there is the 
slightest doubt about its freshness and cleanli- 
ness, it should be pasteurized. In the large cities 
where the milk has been transported long dis- 
tances, ordinary raw milk is unsafe. It is pos- 
sible, however, to buy safe, unheated milk, and 
whenever it is available it should be given to 
children. 

When safe raw milk is not obtainable pas- 
teurized milk should be used. Milk is pasteur- 
ized when heated to 155° F. for thirty minutes. 
This process destroys 99 per cent of the bac- 
teria or germs in milk, and delays its souring. 
Milk thus heated is not sterile, and will not 
keep unless quickly chilled and kept chilled 
until used; it should be used within 36 hours 
after pasteurization. 

Goat's milk is excellent for children when 
obtainable. If good raw or pasteurized milk 
cannot be obtained, fresh evaporated or dried 
milk may be used, but such milks do not con- 
tain the growth promoting elements as do fresh 
cow's milk, and other foods like fresh eggs, 
animal broths, green vegetables, and fresh fruit 
like the orange, must be added to the diet, in 
order that children shall not suffer from lack 
of proper nourishment. 



30 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

CEREALS 

Cereals are useful foods for children if prop-' 
erly cooked and not used in excess, or to the 
exclusion of other necessary food. The dry or 
ready to serve cereals are not as valuable as 
those cooked at home. Because a child is fond 
of cereal it should not constitute the whole 
meal. The coarse cereals are to be preferred 
for children who are constipated. Oatmeal 
when thoroughly cooked is the best, but it is 
well to have two or three kinds on hand for 
variety. 

Cereals should be served with very little 
sugar. If too much sugar is used children are 
apt to eat too much, and too little of other 
needed food. Cereals should be well salted, and 
not over a small teaspoon of sugar served with 
a saucer of cereal. 

Cereals are very frequently insufficiently 
cooked; they should be cooked much longer 
than is usually stated on the packages. Most 
of the grains, such as oatmeal, rice, cornmeal, 
hominy and wheaten grits, require at least 
three hours cooking in a double boiler. Wheat- 
ina, cream of wheat and farina should be 
cooked at least one hour. 

The fireless cooker provides an excellent 
means of cooking cereals, especially oatmeal, 
hominy and rice, which require long cooking. 
Cooked in this way the grains retain more of 
their flavor and are softer. 



FOOD FOR BODY BUILDING 31 

EGGS 

Eggs are especially valuable as a food for 
children. They must be fresh and only slightly 
cooked. They are best served soft boiled, 
poached or coddled, though they may be scram- 
bled with milk for older children if not over- 
cooked. Fried eggs should not be given to 
children. Eggs seldom cause indigestion or 
biliousness if cooked in the ways here men- 
tioned, and there are very few children who 
cannot eat them. Certainly parents should 
consider most carefully before depriving chil- 
dren of such a nutritious food. 

Children often acquire food dislikes from 
observation of other people; they learn by imi- 
tation; if they do not hear anybody mention 
a dislike for eggs or milk, or any other whole- 
some food, they will usually eat whatever is 
placed before them without question. 

BREAD, CRACKERS AND CAKES 

Well baked bread and thoroughly cooked 
cereals with milk should make up a large part 
of the diet of children. As children are apt to 
swallow bread without much chewing, bread two 
to three days old is to be preferred to that just 
from the oven. Cut thin and dried crisp in the 
oven, children will learn to chew it, and when 
soaked in milk is less apt to cause indigestion 
than new bread. Unsweetened zweiback is 
also useful. 



32 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

It is a mistake to give children white flour 
bread only. Oatmeal, graham, whole wheat 
and cornmeal flours may be used in varying 
quantities to make delicious breads which not 
only offer some variety in the diet, but also 
assist in regulating the bowels, and provide the 
body with certain needed material. 

Oatmeal and graham crackers are useful in 
feeding children, but should be given only at 
mealtimes. Buckwheat and other griddle-cakes, 
hot breads or fresh sweet cakes should not be 
given to children until they reach the age of 
eight or nine years. Spongecake two days old 
and plain cookies may be given at the evening 
meal occasionally. 

BUTTER, CREAM AND OTHER FATS 

Butter, or milk fat, and cream, which is rich 
in milk fat and other nutritious substances of 
milk, are both valuable foods. There is at least 
two and one-half tablespoonfuls of fat in 
a quart of good milk. If a healthy child is 
given a quart of milk per day, has butter on 
bread, and a small portion of meat or an egg 
once a day, this is sufficient fat and in whole- 
some form. Therefore, it is not best to give 
other fatty foods such as pastry, doughnuts or 
rich cakes, fried meats and vegetables, for in 
these the fat is not in suitable form for chil- 
dren. 

It is best not to give butter to children during 
the first two years, but commencing with the 



FOOD FOR BODY BUILDING 33 

third year it may be used in small amount until 
children become accustomed to its use. 

Cream should be used with some care, espe- 
cially with young children. An ounce of thin 
cream may be used on cereal, but good milk 
serves as well, except occasionally when a child 
is constipated, a small amount may be useful. 
It should be remembered, however, that too 
much fat may cause constipation, as shown by 
dry and putty-colored stools. 

BROTHS AND SOUPS 

Beef or chicken broth may be given to young 
children. Most plain broths are allowable, and 
are made more nutritious by, thickening with 
rice and barley. 

Vegetable purees of spinach, potato or celery 
made with milk are useful after three years 
of age, and those containing peas and beans are 
valuable additions to the diet after five years. 
It is best to withhold tomato soup until chil- 
dren are older. 

MEAT AND FISH 

Children of two years and over need some 
meat, at least every other day, and the days 
when no meat is given an egg should be given 
instead. If for any reason meat is omitted 
from the child's diet, special care must be taken 
to provide some other protein food to take its 
place, preferably an extra amount of milk or 
eggs- 



34 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

The best meats for young children are beef- 
steak, lamb chop, roast lamb, roast beef, chick- 
en, and certain fish, such as sole, shad, bass and 
butter fish. When children reach the age of 
five or six years, a small quantity of breakfast 
bacon may be allowed. 

Broiling and roasting are the best methods 
of preparing tender meats for children. The 
tougher cuts of meats should be stewed or pre- 
pared in a fireless cooker, or first chopped and 
then broiled. Most meats should be rare, and 
either scraped, chopped or ground fine, as chil- 
dren will not chew food thoroughly. Fried or 
cold meats require much chewing, and should 
not be given to children. Every effort should 
be made, however, to teach children to chew 
their food. 

A tablespoonful of any one of these meats 
may be given once a day, or every other day, 
at the mid-day meal. 

MEAT STEWS 

Stews made from meats and vegetables offer 
a large variety of appetizing dishes, and have 
the advantage of being economical as well as 
nourishing. The lower priced cuts may be 
used provided they are made tender by long, 
slow cooking. Potatoes and carrots may be 
cut in small pieces and added to stews, and 
rice, barley, macaroni, and crusts of stale bread 
or toast may be used for variety. 



FOOD FOR BODY BUILDING 35 

MEATS NOT ALLOWED 

Ham, pork, sausage, kidney, liver, game and 
all dried or salt meats; also mackerel and 
halibut are best withheld until children are ten 
years of age. 

Thickened, rich gravies are not digested 
easily, and only* a very small quantity should 
be given children. The fresh, red beef juice, 
however, from a roast is nutritious and bene- 
ficial; several teaspoonfuls of this may be added 
to the meat and potato on a child's plate. 

VEGETABLES 

Vegetables are an important but often a 
neglected part of a child's diet. They supply 
iron, lime and other mineral matter having 
blood enriching and bone building qualities. 
They should be served at least once a day as 
they tend to prevent constipation. To accus- 
tom the child to unfamiliar vegetables they 
may be used for flavoring broths and stews. 
White potatoes are used every day, but should 
not be given in excess. Some children like 
potatoes so well that the}'- eat a whole plateful, 
and leave other needed food. Potatoes should 
be thoroughly cooked by baking or boiling. 

Of the green vegetables the best are spinach, 
asparagus tips, peas, string beans, young lima 
beans well mashed, stewed carrots, young beets, 
celery and squash. Baked sweet potato, cauli- 



36 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

flour and boiled onions may be given in mod- 
erate amount after the sixth year. The young; 
and tender parts of lettuce and celery are allow- 
able; they should be slightly salted and the 
celery cut into fine bits. A satisfactory way 
of serving these is in sandwiches, the bread 
and vegetable being chewed together. 

All vegetables, whether served raw or cooked, 
should be washed with much care, potatoes, 
carrots and parsnips being scrubbed with a 
brush. Greens should be washed leaf by leaf 
in running water whenever possible. 

COOKING VEGETABLES 

Most vegetables should be either steamed, 
baked, boiled or stewed. Green vegetables 
should be cooked until tender. Spinach needs 
to be cooked twenty to thirty minutes, prefer- 
ably steamed, as it loses much less of its valu- 
able qualities than when boiled. It is almost 
impossible to cook vegetables too much for 
children. 

Simple methods of preparing vegetables are 
preferable to the more complicated frying or 
scalloping. For the smallest children vegetables 
like greens should be finely chopped, and if the 
skins of green peas or lima beans are found to 
disagree, they can be put through a sieve. 

When first given to children the amount of 
vegetable should not be over two tablespoon- 
fuls. 



FOOD FOR BODY BUILDING 37 

Radishes, onions, cucumbers or tomatoes 
should not be given to children, and corn, old 
beets, cabbage or egg plant should not be al- 
lowed until the child has passed the ninth year. 
Vegetables in salads are more difficult to digest, 
and are best withheld from young children. 

FRUITS 

Fruits are an exceedingly valuable part of the 
child's diet. They are particularly useful for 
their laxative qualities; they also supply mild 
acids and mineral elements required by the 
body. It is important that fruits should be 
selected and used with some care, especially in 
cities. 

Up to five years of age usually only the 
juices of fresh fruits and the pulp of cooked 
fruits should be used. The juice from sweet 
oranges is best, but the juice from fresh grape- 
fruit, peaches, strawberries and raspberries, 
may also be used, care being taken to strain 
away all seeds. 

Of the cooked fruits stewed or baked apples, 
prunes, peaches and apricots are the best. After 
the fifth year the soft pulp of the orange or 
grapefruit may be given at mealtime, and by 
the seventh year a small amount of apple or 
banana may be given with the meal. No fruits 
should be allowed between meals. 

Special care should be taken in the selection 
of fruit for children during hot weather, and 



38 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN; 

at this time it should be used with greater care, 
particularly with children subject to indigestion. 
If there is a tendency to looseness of the bowels 
or frequent attacks of pain in the bowels or 
stomach, fruit should be avoided. Fruit is best 
given at the mid-day meal as a dessert after 
the hearty food is eaten. 

DESSERTS AND SWEETS 

Over indulgence in sweets is one of the most 
common causes of stomach and intestinal dis- 
orders in children over two years of age. Dur- 
ing the years from two to six children will 
thrive much better if they are given only junket, 
cornstarch pudding, plain rice, baked custard, 
and once a week a moderate amount of ice 
cream. The fruits used as already described 
are excellent for dessert. 

Pies, tarts, doughnuts, jams, preserved fruits, 
nuts, candy, and dried fruits unless thoroughly 
cooked, are not desirable foods for children. 
Because children like sweets is no reason for 
indulging such cravings. Children should be 
trained to obedience and self-control. The re- 
sults of indulgence in sweets are constantly 
evident in pale, sickly looking children. 

Desserts and sweets should be withheld until 
all hearty food on the child's plate is eaten. No 
child can be well for very long who is allowed 
to indulge in fruit, candy, ice cream and soda 
between meals. If allowed at all the best kind 



FOOD FOR BODY BUILDING 39 

is a small piece of pure maple sugar or plain 
stick candy given not oftener than twice a week 
at dinner with a dessert that is not too sweet. 

FEEDING DURING THE SECOND YEAR 

During the first year of life children are 
nourished almost exclusively on milk, except 
that in the latter half of the year the follow- 
ing foods are added to the diet: Fruit juices, 
cereal gruels and beef juice are added very 
gradually until during the twelfth month the 
child is having small amounts of soft cooked 
eggs, spinach and toast. 

During the first half of the second year the 
gruel is gradually removed from the milk until 
at the fifteenth month undiluted whole milk 
is given, and milk forms a large part of the 
child's diet. At the same time cooked cereals 
are added to the diet, and by the eighteenth 
month, if most of the teeth are present, a tea- 
spoonful of rare, ground-up beef with a small 
amount of baked potato with the red fresh beef 
gravy may be added to the diet. 

During the last half of the second year the 
following foods are added to the diet: Soft 
pulp of prune and baked apple, thoroughly 
cooked carrots, fresh green peas, small serv- 
ings of tender roast beef and lamb chop, finely 
ground or chopped. 

During the second year most children will 
require five meals. Some children will sleep 



40 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

from 6 P. M. to 6 A. M., but unless given a 
feeding at 10 P. M., others are apt to wake 
too early in the morning 

It is advisable to prepare the milk for the 
entire day at one time as soon as possible after 
it is delivered in the morning. When only plain 
milk is used the quantity needed for each feed- 
ing is put into a separate bottle, the milk pas- 
teurized or not as necessary, and placed on the 
ice. This avoids disturbing the day's supply 
of milk every time the child is fed. 

During the thirteenth and fourteenth month 
the milk is diluted with gruel made from bar- 
ley, wheat or oatmeal flour. Oatmeal gruel is 
somewhat more laxative than the others, and 
is useful when a child is constipated. It is best 
to prepare the food for the entire day at one 
time. The amount of each ingredient required, 
is shown in the following formula: 

Boiled water 11 ounces 

Flour 6 level tablespoonfuls 

Milk Sugar 3 level tablespoonfuls 

Milk 34 ounces 

The flour is slowly stirred into the water 
until completely dissolved and cooked thirty 
minutes. As it boils it will be necessary to add 
water, so that when the gruel is cooked there 
will be eleven ounces in all. Before removing 
from the fire the milk sugar is thoroughly 
stirred into the gruel ; it should then be allowed 
to cool, when the milk may be added and thor- 



FOOD FOR BODY BUILDING 41 

oughly mixed with the gruel and sugar solution. 
Many children do quite as well when white 
finely granulated sugar is used instead of milk 
sugar, but it should be remembered that only 
half as much cane sugar should be used, and 
for many children one tablespoonful to the 
forty-five ounce mixture will be ample. 

DIET FOR AVERAGE HEALTHY CHILD DURING 
THIRTEENTH AND FOURTEENTH MONTHS 

6.30 A. M. Eight to ten ounces of the milk 
and gruel food; after thirteenth 
to be taken from cup or spoon. 

9.00 A. M. Orange juice, two to four table- 
spoonfuls in a little water. 

10.00 A. M. Eight to ten ounces milk and 
gruel food. 

2.00 P. M. Beef juice, one or two ounces; 
green vegetable, one tablespoon- 
ful, prepared as described under 
subject of "Vegetables". Crisp 
toast, thin slice; milk and gruel 
food, five ounces from cup. 

6.00 P. M. Eight to ten ounces milk and 

gruel food. 
10.00 P. M. Eight to ten ounces of milk and 
gruel food; may be taken from 
bottle. 

WEANING CHILDREN FROM THE BOTTLE 

Efforts to wean children from the bottle 
should commence before they are twelve 



42 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

months old. They can usually be trained to 
take food from cup or spoon at this time if 
some care and patience are given to the matter. 
The 10.00 P. M. feeding may be taken from the 
bottle as long as this feeding is continued. 

SCHEDULE FOR FEEDING HEALTHY CHILDREN FROM 
FIFTEENTH TO EIGHTEENTH MONTH INCLUSIVE. 

6.30 to 7 A. M. Warm milk eight ounces, 

taken from cup. 
9.00 A. M. Fruit juice, one to three ounces. 

10.00 to 10.30 A. M. Two tablespoonfuls oat- 
meal, cream of wheat or corn- 
meal cereal with one ounce of 
thin cream, or two ounces of milk, 
salted, but no sugar. Dry toast, 
zweiback or dried bread; warm 
milk, five to six ounces. 
2.00 P. M. Beef juice two ounces, one soft 
boiled tgg f and one small thor- 
oughly cooked baked potato. 
Water, but no milk to drink. 

Another Day: Lamb or chicken broth, five to 
six ounces, in which is thoroughly 
cooked rice; one tablespoonful of 
green vegetable; thin slice dry 
toast; water, but no milk. 

Another Day: If most of teeth are present, 
rare scraped beef, one teaspoonful 
at first, increased gradually to 
three; small baked potato with 
red dish gravy from the fresh 



FOOD FOR BODY BUILDING 43 

beef; crisp dry toast, one slice; 
no milk. 
6.00 P. M. One of the light cereals such as 
cream of wheat, malted break- 
fast food or wheatina, cooked at 
least one hour, two to three table- 
spoonfuls, with milk; no sugar. 
Warm milk to drink five to six 
ounces. 
10.00 P.M. Warm milk, six to eight ounces. 

DIET FROM NINETEENTH TO TWENTY-FOURTH 
MONTH INCLUSIVE 

Most children can now be trained to go from 
6.00 P. M. to 6.30 A. M. without food, and will 
sleep better than when given food at 10.00 P. M. 
The schedule for the day's meals should be 
about as follows: 
6.30 to 7.00 A. M. Eight to ten ounces of 

warm milk given from cup. 
9.00 A. M. Fruit juice, two to three ounces. 
10.00 to 10.30 A. M. Any cereal mentioned in 
previous schedule, three table- 
spoonfuls, cooked and salted as 
already described, with an ounce 
of thin cream, or two ounces of 
milk, but without sugar. Crisp 
toast, dry bread or zweiback, and 
cup of warm milk. 
2.00 P. M. One soft boiled or poached egg, 
small baked potato, fresh green 



44 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

peas or stewed carrots, mashed 
and strained, a level tablespoon- 
ful; prune pulp or baked apple, 
one to two tablespoonfuls; water 
to drink, but no milk. 
Another Day: Broth four ounces, and a level 
tablespoonful of finely scraped 
or ground rare beef, steak, lamb 
chop or roast beef; small thor- 
oughly cooked baked potato, or 
two tablespoonfuls boiled rice 
cooked until very soft. Stewed 
carrots or fresh green peas, 
mashed and strained, one level 
teaspoonful. Pulp of baked apple 
or stewed prunes, one to two 
tablespoonfuls. No milk. 
6.00 P. M. Cream of wheat or farina cooked 
one hour, or boiled rice, three 
tablespoonfuls, served with milk 
or thin cream, but without sugar; 
warm milk to drink, six to eight 
ounces. 
6.00 P. M. Another Day: Milk toast and cup 
of milk. 
Another Day: Dried bread and ten to twelve 
ounces of warm milk. 
It is best not to give the stewed fruit until 
all the hearty food is eaten. If children are al- 
lowed to choose they are apt to eat the fruit 
first and then eat but a small portion of hearty 



FOOD FOR BODY BUILDING 45 

food. Those having feeble digestion will do bet- 
ter if given only the fruit juices. 

Children should be given water freely be- 
tween meals, especially in hot weather. Sweet 
soda waters and other iced drinks are very apt 
to cause indigestion, and children are much 
better without them. During the first two or 
three years water given to children should be 
boiled and then cooled. If there is the slight- 
est doubt about the purity of water, it is best 
to boil it, even for older children. 

Some children do not ask for water, and in 
winter they are apt to drink too little. It is 
well to give them water two or three times 
between meals in quantities of one to four 
ounces, depending upon the age. 

All children need watching lest they wash 
down their food with copious drinks of water. 
Very little should be allowed with the meals, 
especially at breakfast and supper, when the 
glass of milk is given. 

DIETARY FOR CHILDREN FROM THIRD TO 
SIXTH YEAR INCLUSIVE 

No food of any kind should be given at 10 
P. M. after the second year. Three regular 
meals should now be given, and a cup of milk 
with a cracker or bread and butter once, either 
between breakfast and dinner, or between din- 
ner and supper, whichever is the longest inter- 
val. Water may be given freely between meals. 



46 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

The most common mistake made in feeding 
children of this age is to give too much potato, 
bread, cereal and dessert, and not enough green 
vegetables and meat. The best way is to bal- 
ance the diet so that a child will receive every- 
day at least one from each of the food groups 
described in preceding pages, in order that all 
the elements needed for body-building may be 
provided. 

The following combinations arranged for 
each meal are simple, easily prepared, and if 
properly cooked should taste good, as well as 
^ive some variety. 

BREAKFASTS: 7.00 to 7.30 A. M. Oatmeal 
or rolled oats, three tablespoonfuls, served with 
milk or thin cream and a half teaspoonful of 
sugar; (if the cereal is too heavily sweetened 
children are apt to eat too much cereal and 
leave other needed food.) Bread and butter; 
cup of milk; pulp of baked apple. 



Soft cooked egg } coddled, boiled or poached; 
toast and butter; orange juice until after third 
year, then soft pulp of orange; cup of milk. 



Cornmeal mush and milk; bread and butter; 
stewed prunes; cup of milk. 



Egg scrambled lightly with milk; toast and 
butter; apple sauce; cup of milk. 



FOOD FOR BODY BUILDING 47 

DINNERS: 12:30 to 1.00 P. M. Roast beef 
cooked rare, one tablespoonful finely chopped; 
small to medium sized baked potato; spinach, 
one or two tablespoonfuls, depending upon age 
of child; dessert, simple jello with slice bread 
and butter, water to drink, but no milk. 



Lamb stew with carrot and potato thoroughly 
cooked and in small pieces; meat finely divided; 
toast; farina pudding; water, no milk. 



Boiled fresh fish, finely chopped, one to two 
tablespoonfuls, simple egg sauce; mashed po- 
tato, two tablespoonfuls; fresh string beans 
thoroughly cooked, one to two tablespoonfuls. 
Dessert, thoroughly cooked prunes, the pulp of 
four or five. 

Creamed potatoes; green peas, thoroughly 
cooked and put through sieve, one to two table- 
spoonfuls; apple sauce; bread and butter. 

SUPPERS: 6.00 P. M. Graham bread, two 
days old and cup of milk; apple sauce; simple 
cup cake. 

Baked rice and cup of milk. Baked custard. 



Potato-milk broth; toast and butter; soft 
pulp of stewed prunes. 



Milk toast; stewed peaches; cup of milk. 
Spinach-milk broth; toast; baked apple. 



48 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

Many other combinations can be arranged. 
Milk and various dishes made from milk should 
constitute a large part of any diet for children, 
such as milk and vegetable soups made from 
potato, peas, carrots, beans, celery, spinach and 
asparagus. Then there are the cereal milk 
puddings made with milk and bread, rice, corn- 
meal, and other cereal food, all of which fill a 
very important place in the feeding of children. 

WHEN THE CHILDREN HAVE INDIGESTION 

If careful training in the fundamentals of 
right living is faithfully carried out as sug- 
gested in the first part of this chapter, children 
will have very little indigestion, and much less 
illness in other ways. It has been very fre- 
quently observed that when bad habits of eat- 
ing are corrected other disorders such as nerv- 
ousness, constipation, wetting of the bed, and 
disorders due to intestinal parasites or worms, 
are very much improved, and often entirely 
cured. 

ACUTE INDIGESTION 

It sometimes happens that the small boy or 
girl gets hold of food unsuitable for the age, 
or eats too much, and will have an attack of 
vomiting with looseness of the bowels, some 
pain and fever. It is important to remember 
that the vomiting and diarrhoea mean that 
nature is making an effort to get rid of the 



FOOD FOR BODY BUILDING 49 

undigested food, and that digestion has for the 
time being ceased. 

To help nature it is first necessary to clear 
out from the intestines all undigested food by 
giving from two to four teaspoonfuls of castor 
oil, depending upon the age; or, if this is not 
handy, or if in two hours there has been no 
action of the bowels, an enema of soapsuds 
may be given. 

No food of any kind should be given for 
twelve to thirty-six hours, depending upon the 
severity of the attack; then plenty of boiled 
water may be given, three to four tablespoon- 
fuls of hot water every hour. Ice-water should 
not be given. 

A return to the former diet too quickly will 
surely result in another attack. At first, only 
broth skimmed free of fat, thin gruel made 
from wheat or barley, diluted milk or whey, 
may be allowed. As improvement begins the 
diet may be very gradually increased by giving 
a small piece of dry toast at one or two of the 
feedings. Later, the milk may be diluted less, 
and in a few days milk toast may be given, 
and then a fresh, soft boiled egg, but a week 
or ten days should elapse before the child is 
taking a full diet. 

CHRONIC INDIGESTION 

This is a common disorder during childhood, 
often unrecognized, and extending over a long 



50 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

period. Unless checked it seriously interferes 
with a child's general health, causing weakness, 
marked loss of weight, and retarded develop- 
ment. 

There are certain symptoms which suggest 
this condition, such as fretfulness, disturbed 
sleep, loss of appetite or capricious appetite, 
grinding of the teeth, lassitude, loss of weight 
and anaemia or paleness. There is also apt to 
be some pain in the abdomen with distention, 
constipation, or looseness of the bowels with 
mucus in the stools, coated tongue and foul 
breath. Such symptoms are quite often accom- 
panied by worms, but not necessarily so. 

This condition is usually the result of eating 
between meals, eating improper food, such as 
pie, rich puddings, cakes, candy, nuts, etc., not 
chewing food and bolting it with large quanti- 
ties of liquid, and imperfect cooking. 

Most of these children will recover complete- 
ly if parents will follow the rules given in the 
first part of this chapter. One of the chief 
obstacles in the way of recovery is that parents 
are loath to follow the simple ways of living 
so necessary if children are to keep well, but 
are apt to indulge their children and expect 
them to get well by giving medicine. 

Food for children must be selected with care, 
and they should not be allowed to choose their 
own food and live on any single article of diet. 
Because children eat certain improper foods 



FOOD FOR BODY BUILDING 51 

without making them actually ill, does not 
mean that the practice is harmless. Nature is 
wonderfully patient, and children will go on for 
some time perhaps showing only a slight peev- 
ishness, some wakefulness at night, capricious 
appetite and paleness. The symptoms come on 
so gradually that the parents do not notice 
them, but eventually the restlessness at night 
is accompanied by "night terrors" or bad 
dreams, the appetite fails altogether, the face 
becomes more and more pale, the body thinner, 
and some day the child has a convulsion. Par- 
ents seldom think of the real cause of the 
symptoms, but are apt to think there is some 
serious disease coming on. 

Careful feeding will do much for these chil- 
dren. Regular meals, no eating between meals, 
care as to thorough chewing of food, and selec- 
tion of a simple, well balanced diet with restric- 
tion of sweets, will do much to bring the body 
back to health. If to such care is added the 
habit of retiring for the night soon after the 
light supper, and plenty of fresh air is provided 
day and night, recovery is to be expected. 

Usually the condition has been coming on 
for some months, but there will be marked im- 
provement inside of a month. This will en- 
courage the parents to continue to maintain 
careful feeding in order to make recovery com- 
plete, and keep the children well. 



SLEEP AND REST 



'Heaven trims our lamps while we sleep" — Alcott. 



"Let youth cherish sleep, the happiest of earthly boons, while 
yet it is at its command; for there cometh the day to all when 
'Neither the voice of the lute nor the birds' shall bring back the 
sweet slumbers that fell on their young eyes as unbidden as the 
dews." — Bulwer-Lytton. 



CHAPTER IV 
SLEEP AND REST 

However carefully the diet of children is 
planned in order that the growing body shall 
be provided with food suitable for its needs, 
our children will still suffer from underweight 
and feeble resistance to disease unless the nerv- 
ous system is rested by an abundance of sleep. 

When children are overfatigued from loss of 
sleep the whole body is tired, including the di- 
gestive organs. Over fatigue is one potent 
cause of indigestion and loss of weight. Suit- 
able food and sufficient sleep, two vital require- 
ments of body growth, are dependent one upon 
the other. Improper feeding results in indi- 
gestion and loss of sleep, while insufficient sleep 
is just as surely followed by loss of appetite 
and indigestion. Thus it is that default in 
either direction defeats our efforts in body- 
building. 

At all stages of development the child has 
greater need for sleep than the adult. The 
nervous system is very unstable. As the child 
grows development progresses with exceeding 
rapidity; new impressions are constantly being 
received, new knowledge is being acquired, and 

55 



56 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

all the time physical growth is keeping pace 
with mental development. 

Parents and educators need a greater appre- 
ciation of the fact that children expend a vast 
amount of energy and strength in the process 
of growing. The importance of quiet, restful 
sleep during infancy and childhood cannot be 
over-emphasized. The nervous system must be 
carefully guarded against over stimulation. 
Such care should commence in early infancy 
and continue throughout childhood. 

During the first six months of life, and in- 
deed most of the first year, the young infant 
should simply sleep, eat and grow. At this time 
the attitude of parents may well be that of 
watchful providers of bodily needs, allowing 
the dawning intelligence to unfold itself. So 
important is the restorative influence of sleep 
that Nature has ordained that during the first 
six months of life the normal infant shall spend 
from twenty to twenty-two hours out of the 
twenty-four in sleep; during the second half 
of the first year sixteen to eighteen hours is 
little enough. Fifteen hours during the second 
year, and thirteen and fourteen hours out of 
the twenty-four for the third and fourth year 
of life, is not too much. 

After the first year most children do not have 
sufficient sleep. All too soon the daily nap is 
discontinued, and many little children from two 
to six years of age are allowed to sit up long 



SLEEP AND REST 57 

after supper, thus shortening the night hours 
of sleep. As a result children lose appetite, 
have indigestion, become thin, pale, peevish, 
restless and irritable. 

If children are to obtain their full quota of 
sleep, it is essential that regular times for feed- 
ing and sleeping be strictly followed from in- 
fancy. It is a simple matter to teach children 
habits of regularity if such training is com- 
menced in early infancy, but if neglected until 
the second year it will be much more difficult. 

After three or four months healthy children 
should not be nursed or fed between 10 P. M. 
and 6 A. M. 

Some children at four or five months will 
sleep from 6 P. M. to 6 A. M. without feeding 
and thrive well. At two years of age the 10 
P. M. feeding should be discontinued, and chil- 
dren will usually sleep from 10 P. M. to 6 A. M. 
and thrive better without night feeding. 

The best time for the daily nap is after the 
mid-forenoon feeding. The baby should be 
made comfortable by changing and loosening 
of clothes, put in bed in darkened room and 
left alone. If this is regularly followed from 
the beginning of a child's life, most children 
will have a refreshing nap from 10.30 A. M. 
until 1 P. M. 

During the third and fourth years children 
need a daily nap of one and a half to two 
hours in the latter part of the forenoon before 



58 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

the mid-day meal, and an unbroken night 
of sleep from 6.30 P. M. to 6.30 or 7.30 
A. M. 

It is after the fourth year that many children 
show lack of sleep. All too often little children 
are allowed to lose from one to three of the 
precious hours of sleep before midnight. From 
the fifth to the ninth year most children who 
have been carefully trained from infancy will 
sleep from 7 P. M. to 7 or 8 A. M., and will 
take a short nap of thirty to sixty minutes 
before dinner, or sometime in the afternoon. 

By the seventh }^ear most children will have 
commenced to attend school, and to the strain 
due to rapid development of body and mind, 
is now added the stimulation and stress of 
school life. At this time especially, careful 
parents will see that their children obtain the 
full amount of sleep. From nine to fifteen 
years, ten hours sleep every night is not too 
much, and many children of this age would 
derive much benefit from a half hour's rest 
during the two hours between school sessions, 
or an hour after the one school session. 

Parents may question the wisdom of insist- 
ing upon the daily rest period when children 
do not sleep, but if it is remembered that over 
fatigue is exceedingly common in growing chil- 
dren, the necessity for such rest becomes ap- 
parent. Even though they do not sleep the 
rest period will relax and quiet the nerves. 



SLEEP AND REST 59 

CONDITIONS FAVORABLE TO HEALTHY SLEEP 

Habits of eating and sleeping formed during 
*the first year or two of life have much to do 
with children obtaining sufficient sleep in later 
childhood. Most children, given proper food at 
regular meals and not between meals, who have 
plenty of fresh air and a comfortable bed, will 
sleep if the room is darkened. 

The nervous system is more completely re- 
laxed, sleep more sound and more restful in a 
dark room. Children are so sensitive to all 
impressions that eyes and brain need the com- 
plete rest which darkness affords. The habit 
of sleeping in a dark room is easily acquired 
if children are trained from birth to go to bed 
in a dark room, and later, as they reach the 
age of understanding, they may be taught that 
the darkness of night as well as the light of 
day, has a beneficent purpose. 

As children are naturally somewhat timid, 
every effort should be made to prevent them 
from being frightened, and to develop in them 
a spirit of fearlessness. Bedtime stories should 
be chosen with some care; it is best to exclude 
those which have any suggestion of fear, such 
as ghost stories or fairy tales about giants, 
goblins, dragons, bears and wolves. The child's 
imagination is apt to magnify apparently harm- 
less objects into images of frightful monsters, 
and thus be frightened into wakefulness, and 



60 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

made hopelessly afraid to be left alone in the 
dark. 

Such stories may well be excluded when 
there are so many charming stories about the 
birds, the flowers, field and forest, and the 
wonders of the heavens. Surely the heavens 
gleaming with the soft light of the twinkling 
stars, and the brooding stillness of the coming 
night, hold no suggestion of fear for a little 
child. It is so easy to attract the child's imagi- 
nation by the wonder and beauty and quiet of 
the night! 

Parents frequently remark that their children 
wake too early in the morning. In spring and 
summer when sunrise comes as early as four 
o'clock in the morning, children are apt to lose 
valuable hours of morning sleep unless the room 
is darkened by blinds. Outside slatted blinds 
painted a dark color, will admit plenty of fresh 
air, and at the same time keep out bright light. 

It is always best, even from earliest infancy, 
for a child to sleep in a separate bed, and if 
possible, in an adjoining room from the parents. 
There are sound reasons for such training; chil- 
dren will sleep better and more quietly; it will 
also teach them self-reliance so that they will 
not be too dependent upon parents, or be afraid 
when alone; nor will children be so apt to con- 
tract colds, contagious diseases, or bad habits 
from each other, if they sleep alone. 

Bedrooms should be thoroughly aired out at 



SLEEP AND REST 61 

least once a d&y, and at night, with screens to 
protect the children from drafts; windows 
should be opened sufficiently to give an abun- 
dance of fresh air; if the children have warm 
night clothing and are well covered, they will 
be benefited in every way by the fresh air. 

Sleeping out of doors is highly beneficial. A 
sleeping porch or even a screened verandah 
may be used for this purpose by children after 
two years, except in very cold, stormy weather, 
or when a high wind is blowing. 

SLEEPING BAGS 

Mothers are often troubled with the thought 
that the children may be uncovered in the night 
and 'so contract a cold. Many mothers have 
made warm sleeping bags for their children. 
It is not at all difficult to make such a bag. A 
small blanket is folded in the middle and sewed 
up at one end and on the other side. Strong 
hooks and eyes or snaps are arranged at inter- 
vals of a few inches for fastening. Put a child 
into such a warm nest on a cold night, fasten 
the hooks so as to hold the top of the bag 
around the neck and shoulders, and the cold 
cannot get in. An all wool blanket is best for 
winter use, and muslin for summer. 

With the child's arms in the bag, and the 
bag properly fastened at the top so it is im- 
possible to get the fingers to the mouth, thumb 
sucking is prevented. It is desirable that the 



62 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

sleeping bag should be sufficiently roomy for 
the child to turn and move freely about inside. 
Tapes are also fastened to each of the lower 
corners of the bag and tied to the corners of 
the bed or crib. Thus fastened loosely in the 
crib or bed, the child is covered at night, and 
the mother need not be disturbed by thoughts 
of bedclothes being kicked off, or get up to see 
if the children are covered. 

CAUSES OF DISTURBED SLEEP 

Sleeplessness indicates that the child is not 
well, or that conditions are unfavorable to 
sound sleep. It is entirely unnecessary to rock 
or sing a child to sleep. Once commenced the 
habit is exceedingly difficult to break, the child 
soon learning not to go to sleep without it. 
Equally pernicious is the habit of sucking a 
rubber nipple. This is a common cause of 
diseases of the mouth and deformities of the 
jaw. 

The best way is to make the child comfort- 
able in bed, and leave it alone in a darkened 
room to go to sleep by itself. Thus trained 
during the first year of life, healthy children 
need no coaxing to sleep in later childhood. 

Indigestion and constipation are frequent 
causes of bad dreams and wakefulness. A sim- 
ple, light evening meal is preferable to a hearty 
dinner at this time. 



SLEEP AND REST 63 

Lack of fresh air in the sleeping room will 
cause children to be restless and wakeful, and 
to become pale and spiritless. Insufficient or 
too much bedcjothing will also cause wakeful- 
ness. 

A frequent cause of restless and sleepless 
nights, is obstruction to breathing due to en- 
larged tonsils and adenoids. Children having 
such growths are apt to snore, and assume all 
sorts of positions in bed. 

Pains in arms and legs will keep children 
awake. Whenever for any reason children are 
not well, or are below par, they lose sleep. 
Therefore, they should not be given soothing 
syrups; medicine is seldom needed. Parents 
should look for and remove the cause. Most 
frequently they will find that the restless nights 
are not due to any serious disease, but to some 
fault in every day care of the child. 

A very frequent cause of disturbed sleep and 
nervous irritability is the excitement produced 
by attending entertainments and moving pic- 
ture shows. Very few entertainments, and 
practically no moving picture shows are adapted 
to the best development of the sensitive child 
mind and spirit. 

Nor is it wise to allow young children to 
take part in concerts and entertainments. Chil- 
dren are not only kept up far beyond their 
usual bedtime, but the mental excitement al- 
most invariably results in over stimulation of 



64 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

the delicate nervous system with consequent 
loss of sleep. 

The more simple and uncomplicated the life 
of the child during the pre-school years the 
better. Continued mental effort or confinement 
indoors are not conducive to the best develop- 
ment of the child nature. School duties, then, 
should be of the most elemental character, and 
preferably conducted in the* open air. No better 
program can be followed by parents in the care 
of their children than one which shall include 
days spent in the open, and long nights of sleep. 
The immediate benefits will be clear eyes, ruddy 
cheeks, and sunny dispositions, but in addition 
thereto there will be built up a priceless re- 
serve of strength for the tasks of later life. 



PLAY AND GROWTH 



"Blessed be the hand that prepares a pleasure for a child, for 
there is no saying zvhen and where it may bloom forth." — Jerrold. 



"Play is a sacred thing, a divine ordinance for developing in 
the child a harmonious and healthy organism, and preparing that 
organism for the commencement of the work of life." — J. G. Holland. 



CHAPTER V 
PLAY AND GROWTH 

In considering the fundamental needs of the 
growing child we are at all times confronted 
with the fact that these essentials to body- 
building are dependent one upon the other; any- 
one being deficient disturbs the working har- 
mony of the whole, and results in a condition 
of ill-health. 

Play must be regarded as a fundamental need 
of supreme importance, since it is inextricably 
bound up with the growth and development of 
the mind and body of the child. The healthy 
child is constantly active, and because of this 
ceaseless activity, the muscles are exercised, 
and the blood courses healthily through the 
different parts of the body. Healthy appetite 
is stimulated, digestion improved, and sound 
sleep obtained. Thus does growth go on and 
the child wax strong. 

We have been slow in coming to appreciate 
the vital significance of play in the life of the 
child Observation of children in and out of 
school leads one to the conclusion that not only 
parents, but school officials as well, must have 
a larger conception of the meaning and im- 
portance of play, if our boys and girls are to 

67 



68 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

be healthy, red-blooded, happy children, and 
become well balanced, useful men and women. 

To the average adult play is considered as 
secondary in importance to the everyday voca- 
tion; it is more a matter of change of scene 
and activities, resulting in a rested mind and 
body. To the child play comes first ; it is every- 
thing; it is self expression; it is life itself; play 
is the child's vocation. Watch how intently 
the little girl carries on her miniature house- 
keeping; how carefully she dresses her family 
of dolls, sweeps the floor of her play-house with 
her small broom, and plays at cooking with her 
dishes, and the more nearly it approaches to 
real housekeeping the happier she is. 

In like manner, observe a group of small boys 
busily engaged in constructing a bridge over a 
small brook, and digging canals branching away 
on either side. Pieces of board are shaped into 
rude boats, and bits of wood and pebbles serve 
as cargo. Back and forth from one side to the 
other the cargoes are sent, each terminal hav- 
ing the name of some country. The boys are 
very serious about it; they are absorbed in the 
joy of creation and construction; for the time 
being they are builders of canals and vessels, 
and engaged in commercial enterprises. They 
imitate what they see in the busy world about 
them. They raise up various structures with 
blocks, they plant gardens, they conduct schools, 
and buy and sell in stores. 



PLAY AND GROWTH 69 

Such various activities do not represent play 
in the sense that parents use the word. They 
are not to be considered as mere pastime or 
amusement. The word "Play" but poorly rep- 
resents that which is really the chief occupation 
of the child. The children enjoy it; they have 
no thought or purpose other than that of the 
present moment, but all the time they are ex- 
ercising body and mind, and character is being 
formed. By means of play they are preparing 
themselves physically and mentally for the 
tasks of later life. 

Thus it is evident that in the play of children 
there are rich possibilities for the highest de- 
velopment of body, mind and spirit. Without 
supervision, and even lacking the usual im- 
plements and suitable surroundings for play, 
children will occupy themselves in some way. 
While too much oversight and too many im- 
plements are undesirable, certain provision for 
their needs can be made and wise direction 
given to their activities, which will help them 
to help themselves. 

As parents we should be more than mere pro- 
viders for their material needs; we must give 
ourselves to them as comrades and guides, 
sometimes suggesting ways and means, but 
more often allowing them to discover and con- 
struct for themselves, thus giving them the 
keen enjoyment which comes only to the ex- 
plorer and creator. 



70 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

It need hardly be said that during these early 
years children should not be given long or diffi- 
cult tasks. This does not mean that they 
should do no work. They cheerfully render the 
small services which come within their capa- 
bilities, such as carrying a few sticks to the 
woodbox, wiping dishes, running small errands 
about the house, and picking up and putting 
playthings in place. If they are treated as 
comrades and made to feel that what they do 
is of real assistance, they will save parents 
many steps, and will be proud and happy in 
doing their part. With the exception of such 
small tasks, and aside from time devoted to 
eating, care of the body, rest and sleep, the 
children's time should be spent in healthy play. 

Fortunate indeed are those children who live 
away from the crowded cities out in the open 
country, where they have freedom and space 
for indoor and outdoor play. The children of 
the cities must necessarily live unnatural, cir- 
cumscribed lives. Apartments occupied by the 
average family in the city are small, frequently 
dark, and sunless. There are no yards or fields, 
and for many children the paved street is the 
only available playground. Such children plain- 
ly show the effects of the barren city life. They 
are pale, under developed for their age, and 
more solemn than we like to see little folks. 
They need to be taken as often as possible to 
the parks, out into the country, or to the sea- 



PLAY AND GROWTH 71 

shore, where they can fill up their lungs with 
good clean air, and have opportunity to run 
and romp. 

But it is not only in large cities that chil- 
dren show the lack of active exercise out of 
doors. Even in the country many children are 
housed too much, and do not have sufficient 
outdoor play. Mothers explain the situation by 
saying that the children will not remain out- 
doors alone, and that parents cannot take the 
time to stay out with them. 

But why not provide play material and sim- 
ple occupations which interest children out of 
doors? This can be done without expending 
much time or money, but surely a small amount 
of our time and effort is not too much to pay 
for the happiness, contentment and safety of 
the little people while they are growing strong 
and sturdy out of doors. 

For children under seven, sandpiles, small 
gardens, low, safe swings, hand and foot-ball, 
climbing, and playing in the snow, will afford 
much healthful exercise. During the third year 
the constructive instinct begins to assert itself. 
At first, children like to make sand-balls and 
mud-pies, then with spoon or shovel, or with- 
out either one of these, using the hands and 
fingers, they will dig holes and make simple 
piles or pyramids, patting the sand into shape. 

The ideal place and surroundings for such 
play is with a group of children at the sea- 



72 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

shore, where pebbles, sand and shells open up 
all sorts of delightful possibilities. For the 
many children, however, who cannot get to the 
seashore, a sand-box arranged in the door-yard, 
will afford an inexhaustible source of pleasure. 

THE SAND-BOX 

To make a sand-box, a load of clean sand 
such as builders use in making mortar is the 
best, although any good sand will do, enclosed 
by smooth, clean boards, to prevent washing 
away of the sand by rain. It is desirable to 
build the sand-box on a sunny slope, where it 
will be exposed to the sunshine some of the 
day, and have the advantage of natural drain- 
age. If the soil under the box is clay, it is 
well to make a drain at the foot of the slope 
by digging a hole two feet deep and filling with 
broken stone, for carrying off rain-water. It is 
difficult to keep the sand clean and dry if it is 
mixed with clay and soil, but clean sand washed 
by rain and dried by the sun is clean and safe. 

PLAY-THINGS FOR THE SAND-BOX 

Playthings needed for the sand-box are to be 
found in nearly all households. Some old 
spoons of different sizes, tin dippers and small 
pails, baking powder cans with covers, serve 
the purpose very well. Clothespins, flowers, 
and bits of wood, acorns, shells and stones are 
all of use in constructing sand-box villages and 



PLAY AND GROWTH 73 

gardens. Thus equipped children will play by 
themselves for many happy hours, allowing the 
busy mother to attend to household affairs. 

Other play apparatus for the yard or porch 
are swings hung so low that young children 
will not be injured by falling out, a low ladder 
having smooth rungs fastened securely against 
wall or fence for climbing, and a teeter-board 
made by balancing a plank over a saw-horse. 

KEEPING HOUSE 

Playing at keeping house is a never failing 
delight to little girls, and they readily adapt 
whatever material is at hand to their small 
housekeeping. They are quick to recognize the 
housekeeping possibilities of a growth of shrubs 
and vines near the house. Spaces are cleared for 
the different rooms and fitted up with boxes, 
shelves, dishes and pans of various shapes and 
sizes. In such a shady nook children will occupy 
themselves busily and happily with their dolls 
and mudpie cooking on many summer afternoons. 

Children will also enjoy the making of a 
house out of a large wooden box. Pieces of 
board may be used for partitions, and the task 
of furnishing, decorating and arranging gard- 
ens about the house will give much pleasure. 

Children are most contented when busily oc- 
cupied working out their own plans, and in this 
way realizing their ideals. They are much in- 



74 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

terested in the life that is going on around 
them, and their play is very apt to reflect the 
various activities of the world in which they 
live. Therefore, it is desirable that material 
and implements provided shall be of the kind 
that help to make play real. 

Too many elaborate toys such as toy auto- 
mobiles and trains of cars which are simply 
pushed back and forth on the floor become irk- 
some to children, and amuse for the moment 
only, but if they are shown how to build rail- 
road stations and warehouses with blocks and 
cardboard, and to use the cars to transport 
material from factory to railroad station, the 
cars will take on a new significance, Small 
wagons and cars should be roomy, strong, and 
of simple construction, in order that they may 
become a part of an interesting system of 
transportation. 

In adding a new toy or piece of play appa- 
ratus to the children's equipment, it is wise to 
consider the new piece in its relation to other 
toys already owned, as to whether it will really 
fit in and be of use in helping children to carry 
out their plans. A few carefully chosen toys 
or tools for really constructive play are much 
to be preferred to a large number of useless 
toys simply made to look at and be thrown 
aside. 

Children living in the country need fewer 
toys than children living in the city. In the 



PLAY AND GROWTH 75 

country there is space, less confusion and great- 
er safety. Less supervision is needed where 
there are large yards, fields and trees. If there 
is also a barn and a brook nearby there will 
be abundant opportunity for healthful exercise, 
fresh air, and the constructive play which all 
children crave and need. Under such conditions 
ordinary toys are not needed, but a few real 
tools and equipment which will help the chil- 
dren to construct whatever they may need at 
the time to carry out their ideas, will be much 
appreciated. 

A TOOL-BOX AND ITS CONTENTS 

Children like to have a tool-box of their own, 
and this is as it should be, since they are thus 
encouraged to have a place for everything, and 
everything in its place. A medium sized ham- 
mer, a screw-driver, and a variety of nails and 
screws will be useful in all sorts of building 
operations. Other tools which will add much 
to their pleasure are a small saw, a small 
smooth plane, and a trysquare. As some apti- 
tude in handling tools is acquired, bolts and 
nuts of different sizes, one or two simple 
wrenches, and a gimlet with which to bore 
holes, will be useful additions to the tool-box. 

With such tools, some pieces of board, and 
old pots, pans and kettles of different size and 
shape, children will enjoy many hours out of 
doors, and learn many useful lessons. 



76 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

Girls as well as boys should be encouraged 
to use tools in the making of various articles. 
When a doll-house is being constructed they 
will enjoy helping in the measuring, fitting, 
sawing and nailing. In this way they will ac- 
quire some manual dexterity, and will derive 
satisfaction from the fact that they are having 
a real part in building the house. 

If girls are to be strong and robust in adult 
life, they need to have more exercise than that 
derived from playing dolls and keeping house. 
The making of things with tools, digging, rak- 
ing and planting in gardens, building play-huts, 
playing in the snow, coasting, skating, swim- 
ming, and playing ball, should all form part of 
a little girl's education, as well as a boy's. 
Playing real ball will do her good; her muscles 
as well as her brother's, need the development 
which comes from throwing, catching and bat- 
ting a ball. She will also learn some of that 
sturdy self-reliance which comes from hardy, 
out of door exercise. 

Cold weather need not keep children indoors 
unless there is high wind or excessively low 
temperature. They take great pleasure in play- 
ing in the snow, and with rubber boots or over- 
shoes, have glorious times with sled and snow- 
shovel, building forts and making snow-men. 

A shallow brook bubbling and gurgling its 
way through the pasture is a never failing 
source of delight to little people. No better 



PLAY AND GROWTH 77 

gift can be presented to children living near a 
brook than a pair of rubber boots. It is so 
much more fun to wade right in and build dams 
and dikes, with small villages on either side, 
than to stand on shore and push a bit of a 
boat back and forth. In order that they may 
enjoy it to the utmost, however, they should 
be clothed so that they need have no concern 
about keeping clean or dry. 

SWIMMING 

It is a common sight at the seashore to see 
little tots from three to five in bathing suits 
having a glorious time sporting in the water 
with their elders. Some children learn to swim 
very early and are never afraid, while others 
are more timid and learn more slowly. It is 
very important not to allow them to become 
frightened at the beginning of the new exper- 
ience; once frightened they may not learn to 
swim for many years. With some patience 
they will frequently become quite adept, and 
each year will add to their skill in the water, 
until at twelve or fourteen they can often swim 
better than father or mother who taught them. 

Swimming is one of the most valuable of the 
body-building exercises. No form of exercise 
gives more pleasure, and it may be the means 
of saving life. Every child should learn as 
early as possible, but it should be undertaken 
gradually, and at first sign of chilliness, chil- 



7S THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

dren should leave the water, and have a quick 
and thorough rub-down. 

GARDENING 

Nearly all children have an instinctive love 
for digging, planting and watching things grow. 
This love of the soil finds expression in the de- 
sire for a bit of ground for a garden, and par- 
ents will do well to encourage children to dig 
and plant. Give each boy and girl a small gar- 
den, a small wheel-barrow, a spade, a hoe, a 
rake and a sprinkling can. The tools should be 
strong, well made, and not too large or clumsy 
for small hands to use. Show the children how 
to prepare the soil, plant the seeds, and care for 
them by watering and digging out the weeds. 

With a little encouragement and kindly inter- 
est on the part of parents children will carry 
on their gardening with much patience and 
pleasure. They will watch eagerly for the first 
seedlings to appear, and as the plants grow the 
children also will grow strong and vigorous 
from exercise in the open air and sunshine. 

There can be no better investment of time 
than that spent by parents with their children 
out of doors. It is good for both parents and 
children to have times of joyous romping toge- 
ther. If as parents we can be real comrades 
with our children, having a sympathetic interest 
in their sports and play, guiding, directing and 
heartening them on their way when needed, but 



PLAY AND GROWTH 79 

on the other hand, know when to allow them 
to work out their own problems in their own 
way, we shall do well, and at the same time win 
their ardent loyalty and respect. 

COMPANIONSHIP OF OTHER CHILDREN 

A sad, and all to common sight, is that of the 
lonely child, often without the companionship 
of other children, or the right kind of play 
equipment. Children need to play together. 
Lacking this contact with each other, they not 
only miss the best of all means of joyous play, 
a playmate, but are apt to become listless, fret- 
ful, unsmiling and too old for their age. Later 
when they enter school, and opportunity offers 
for play with other children, they are awkward 
and shy, and do not enter readily into the 
games. Some special planning will need to be 
done by parents of an only child to provide 
healthy play with other children, and to provide 
proper materials for play. The problem will be 
much more simple in the country where there 
is plenty of space and freedom to run and romp. 
A good dog makes a splendid playfellow', always 
faithful and loyal, and ever ready for most any 
kind of fun. 

THE CITY CHILD 

If there is a small back yard, flat roof, or a 
porch available, much may be done to provide 
wholesome play for the city child. It is usually 
possible to arrange a low swing for the little 



80 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

people between two and six. Small wagons or 
carts, spools of different sizes and shapes, 
clothespins, and different shaped blocks, will all 
be used by the small boy or girl in the city. 
Large shallow boxes and sand can be obtained 
at the kindergarten supply houses. Such a box 
placed on the roof or in the back yard, will give 
much pleasure to city children. 

Small tools for simple carpentry may also be 
used in the city. A small hammer and saw, a 
ruler, some quarter-inch board, nails, screws, 
and screw-driver, will provide material for the 
kind of play little folks like. If to this outfit 
is added a scroll saw, the making of doll's fur- 
niture, small carts and other toys will be pos- 
sible. 

INDOOR PLAY 

We like to think of little children as playing 
out of doors in the open air and sunshine, but 
there will be some stormy days, and excessively 
cold or hot days, when children will be obliged 
to play in the house or on the verandah. 

The care of children will be much simplified, 
and they will derive more pleasure from their 
play, if a corner of the living room is fitted up 
with low shelves or drawers, or a play-room is 
provided where the children may keep their 
various play materials. There is an abundance 
of play material such as children like ready at 
hand in every home. In the house as well as 
out of doors children enjoy playthings which 



PLAY AND GROWTH 81 

furnish material for the making of different 
articles, rather than those which simply amuse 
but give them little to do. Even very young 
children find more pleasure in running a string 
through spools of different sizes, and putting 
clothes-pins together, than in a gaily colored 
rattle or ball. They enjoy material which they 
can shape to suit themselves, rather than some- 
thing which is already shaped for them. 

An oil clay which will not dry out nor crum- 
ble can now be found in kindergarten, toy and 
art stores. This can be used over and over, 
and very young children will spend hours mold- 
ing marbles and small dishes, while older chil- 
dren will make all sorts of dishes, miniature 
men and animals for use in their games. 

A box of water colors and brushes, a supply 
of paper of different colors and thicknesses, 
pencils, blunt pointed scissors, tubes of glue 
and mucilage, colored crayons and a blackboard, 
will afford an endless variety of indoor occu- 
pation. A large variety of pictures for paint- 
ing and. pasting in scrap books may be cut 
from magazines. Children will thus learn the 
different colors, and will try to draw and color 
pictures of simple articles which they see about 
them. They will also make paper houses, paper 
dolls, doll dresses, doll furniture, and even plan 
small villages with people and animals in the 
streets. Children who have learned weaving 
and basketry work in school will enjoy making 



82 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

things at home, and for this purpose simple 
weaving materials should be provided. 

These articles represent raw material having 
possibilities for the sort of indoor play craved 
by all children. Out of such material they can 
shape and construct the things they see in the 
active life about them. They may need some 
guidance in the use of these articles, and it is 
a nice point to decide just when and how much 
we should enter into their world of play. 

The wise parent will give them many hours 
uninterrupted by question or suggestion, al- 
lowing them to become absorbed in their work. 
This constructive power must have full scope 
if our children are to reach their highest and 
best development. Their way of doing things 
may seem roundabout, and the finished product 
of their efforts somewhat crude, but there 
comes a time when they triumphantly present 
some little gift they have made which com- 
mands our admiration and surprise. 

Wooden and cardboard boxes of different 
sizes will be used for stores, forts, doll-houses 
and the like, while chairs and tables readily 
become horses, stages, steamboats and railroad 
trains. Old pieces of rope will serve as reins 
for driving the stage, or they be made by tear- 
ing two inch strips of old cotton cloth and 
sewing end to end. 

The small boy will be much interested in 
arranging lead and tin soldiers in martial array, 



PLAY AND GROWTH 86 

and will welcome some small box cars, carts 
and wagons, to be used in transporting soldiers 
and his small army supplies from place to place. 
Small brooms, carpet sweepers and other 
household articles will please the little girl, and 
toy ducks, turtles, fish and frogs, for floating 
on water, will interest the younger children. 

BLOCKS AND BUILDING 

Of all the toys usually bought for children 
none seem to give so much real satisfaction as 
blocks of different size, shape and color. From 
the time when the first crude building efforts 
of the two year old toddler show themselves, 
the constructive power grows and expands un- 
til it finds expression in the elaborate structures 
built by the seven year old child. 

Some boxes of blocks sold in the stores con- 
tain a fairly good assortment, but few boxes 
contain enough blocks for really constructive 
play. Smooth wooden blocks cut in different 
sizes to the number of one hundred, and a chest 
or box to keep them in, make a good building 
outfit to start with. It is seldom possible to 
purchase such a collection, and it is usually 
necessary to have them sawed from planed 
lumber at a mill, by a carpenter, or by the 
father of the children. 

Mr. H. G. Wells in his book "Floor Games" 
has given the proper sizes for such blocks as 
follows: "Whole blocks, 4^ by 2J4 by V/i 



84 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

inches; half blocks, 2% by 2*4 by 1% inches, 
and quarters made by sawing the latter in 
two." 

Almost any wood available may be used to 
make the blocks except that which too readily 
splits, splinters or warps. Birch and maple are 
usually available in the northern and western 
states; short leaf pine and yellow poplar in 
the south; and sugar pine or western white 
pine in the far west. Sycamore, beech and 
bass-wood may also be used. In addition to 
the blocks, from which all sorts of buildings 
can be constructed, Mr. Wells suggests that 
small play-boards be made of the same wood, 
the dimensions to be as follows: 18 by 9, 9 by 
9, and 9 by 4j4 inches. These boards will serve 
as platforms, walls and the like. 

Thus equipped children will need only a few 
parental suggestions, a word of encouragement 
now and then, and possibly an occasional settle- 
ment of disputes, to spend many happy hours 
in constructive play. The foundations of 
growth and education are laid during the six 
or seven years before school duties begin when 
children devote most of their day to play. Dur- 
ing the school years play must still be regarded 
as the chief factor in education and growth. 
Thus it is evident that careful direction of the 
play activities of children becomes a matter of 
vital importance. Their play equipment de- 
serves the same thoughtful consideration that 
is given to planning their studies. 



CHILD-NATURE; TRAINING AND 
EDUCATION 



"Take heed of this small child of earth; he is great; he hath 
in him God most high." — Swinburn. 



'Children have more need of models than of critics." — Joubert. 



"Better to be driven out from among men than to be disliked 
of children." — R. H. Dana. 



CHAPTER VI 

CHILD-NATURE; TRAINING AND EDUCATION 

As parent teachers we have been slow to 
realize and to take advantage of the teaching 
opportunity afforded by the first six or seven years 
of life. The golden years lie at the threshold of 
life; they are years filled with unlimited possi- 
bilities for laying the foundations of character, 
and of a broad and comprehensive education. 

The coming of a little child into the world 
is the greatest of all mysteries, and the most 
awe-inspiring of miracles. What is to be the 
destiny of the young spirit, mysterious and new, 
which thus makes its advent into the home?, 
Here are infinite possibilities for good or for 
evil, and the parents are the arbiters of the 
child's future welfare. 

No governess, no tutor, no school, can foster 
and nurture the child spirit so understandingly 
and sympathetically as the parents. These 
early years, the foundation years, may well be 
spent in the home and out of doors, under the 
guidance of the mother and father. To them 
is given the greatest and most sacred of all 
teaching opportunities. 

As parents we must acknowledge that we 
have learned all too slowly that our children 

87 



88 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

cannot be robust and sturdy unless we give 
them all the benefits of proper food, plenty of 
sleep, and outdoor air. We have much more 
to learn about the nature of the child, the mean- 
ing of various child activities, and how best to 
direct these activities in order to develop all 
that is good and true and beautiful in our 
children. 

Love for our children is planted deep in our 
natures. We can hardly love them too much 
if we love them wisely, and if underneath this 
love is a solid foundation of common sense. 
This instinctive love which so takes possession 
of our lives is Nature's way of assuring care 
and protection to little children. Although it 
may help us to be patient in trying situations, 
it may, on the other hand, make us over-in- 
dulgent and lax in matters of training. Par- 
ental love is not all-sufficient. The sacred office 
of parent means more than to be mere pro- 
viders of physical necessities; it is a teaching 
office having boundless possibilities; we make 
or mar the men or women of the future. 

To make the most of our children, and thus 
do our part in the building of men and wo- 
men, it is for us to add to our equipment as 
parents a knowledge of child nature, and the 
meaning of child activities. It is a subject ab- 
sorbingly interesting and intensely illuminating; 
it leads to a better understanding of the child's 
point of view, and makes clear many perplexing 
problems which are constantly arising in the 



TRAINING AND EDUCATION 89 

training of children. It is safe to say that such 
study would tend to prevent many misunder- 
standings between parents and children. 

If there is any one fundamental principle in 
child training that is more important than any 
other, it is that such training should commence 
in infancy. Good or bad habits are being 
formed during the first twelve months of a 
child's life, and it is as easy to learn good 
habits as it is to acquire bad ones. To super- 
vise the daily living of the young infant in such 
a way that only good habits may be formed 
becomes the parent's task. Some definite or- 
derly plan in the daily care of the young infant 
is not only essential to healthy development of 
body and mind, but lays the foundations for 
later training. 

The child who has been trained from birth 
to have food, sleep, and outings at regular times 
has already learned something of the habit of 
regularity. As children grow older their ac- 
tivities increase, hereditary traits appear, and 
to the simple routine of infancy is added the 
necessity of providing space and opportunity 
for their developing energies and interests. 

The constant care of a healthy growing child 
is by no means a small matter, and if there are 
two or three in the family, some attention will 
need to be given to the matter of conserving 
the mother's strength. Constant, excessive 
fatigue on the part of the mother must in- 



90 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

evitably bring disaster to the family. Her's is 
the greatest of all tasks; to it she must bring 
abundant stores of strength. Overstrain must 
be prevented by suitable food, plenty of sleep, 
some variety of scene and recreation. The 
mother needs to get out of doors as well as 
the children, and she will benefit largely if she 
will share their outings as often as possible. 
Brief rest periods of complete relaxation on a 
couch once or twice during the forenoon and 
a longer rest in the afternoon, will do much to 
prevent over-fatigue, and to maintain a cheer- 
ful, hopeful outlook on life. 

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHILD NATURE 

As children come up out of infancy and be- 
come conscious of themselves and of other 
people, we are met at the outset by certain 
inborn traits. If we will but recognize and 
endeavor to undertsand these natural charac- 
teristics we shall find the task of guiding our 
children much more simple, for they lie back 
of, and to a large degree control, the conduct 
of all children. 

First, there is the native independence with 
which every healthy young American is en- 
dowed; then, the changeableness so common tcr 
all children; next, is slowness of perception; 
and finally, there must be considered the matter 
of individual temperament, which influences and 
gives color to all other characteristics. 



TRAINING AND EDUCATION 91 

Confronted with some difficulty children im- 
mediately resist the obstacle which thwarts 
their purpose. In their play we like to see them 
persist until they overcome obstacles which 
prevent the carrying out of their constructive 
ideas, but when they come up against us as 
the obstacle, we are often-times indignant, and 
apt to object to such resistance. 

At such times it will help us if we will re- 
member that we are dealing with an untrained 
mind; the reasoning powers are developed but 
little; the child is controlled by impulse, and 
desire is the primitive instinct. Judgment is 
only attained by experience, and little children 
are lacking in experience. 

Children do not understand why we object 
to certain actions. They have yet to learn the 
full meaning of parental authority. Their 
natural instinct is to overcome a difficulty, and 
their native independence leads them to blaze 
their own trail ; hence, we need not be surprised 
if at times they refuse to be guided by our 
experience and direction. 

It will not be strange, and parents need not 
be disheartened if at times active, high-spirited 
children, full of eager curiosity, have sudden, 
violent attacks of temper. Such outbursts are 
especially liable to occur unless children are 
provided with some outlet for their super- 
abundant energy. They need plenty of room 
and materials for suitable occupation and play. 



92 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

The high spirits and curiosity are valuable in- 
born qualities if diverted into proper channels. 

Children are frequently described by parents 
as rebellious, sullen, ugly, stubborn, and even 
stupid. We must look back of the fits of 
temper and rebellion, and endeavor to find the 
reason why the child is thus expressing him- 
self. Very often there is a legitimate cause 
for the upset. The child may have eaten im- 
proper food, and the ugly fit of temper may 
be the result of indigestion; or unusual excite- 
ment the day before, such as a party or enter- 
tainment, may be the cause of tired nerves 
and consequent irritability. 

It is frequently our inability to understand 
children that brings about circumstances which 
demand discipline. Children cannot be quite 
natural when conscious that they are under 
continuous observation, however friendly such 
supervision may be. They need opportunity 
for self-expression. This does not mean that 
they are to be allowed to do as they please at 
all times, but that while occupied with play or 
work, it is best not to hedge them about with 
unnecessary restrictions. 

Whatever may be the cause of irritability or 
loss of temper, it is of the utmost importance 
that as parents we maintain our own poise, and 
with gentle firmness and patience, endeavor to 
understand the child nature. To guide the chil- 
dren with sympathy and understanding is our 



TRAINING AND EDUCATION 93 

high privilege, giving them the benefit of our 
experience and judgment, but always allowing 
the child nature ample freedom of expression, 
in order that it may grow and blossom and un- 
fold itself naturally and without hindrance. 

CHANGEABLENESS 

One of the most apparent characteristics of 
the child nature is the element of changeable- 
ness. Who has not been impressed and even 
amused by the constant changes which occur 
in children from day to day? Their progress 
in development is marked by many phases, 
mental and physical. They assume various gro- 
tesque expressions and attitudes without neces- 
sarily being in any sense abnormal. Such man- 
nerisms are but the temporary expression of an 
unstable and undeveloped mind and body, and 
very frequently disappear while parents are 
considering the best course to pursue. 

It is also true that much of this grotesque 
activity of children represents an effort to imi- 
tate the odd sights and sounds in the everyday 
world about them. Whatever attention we 
give to these oddities should be unobtrusive, 
and they are seldom to be regarded as real 
faults. Nor do they demand stern measures 
which would rather tend to give them undue 
importance, and to make them worse. Our 
best course will be to ignore them as much as 



94 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

possible, and provide suitable materials for 
wholesome play activities. 

SLOWNESS OF PERCEPTION 

Another characteristic of the child nature is 
what might be called slowness of perception. 
That this is natural to an untrained mind would 
seem to be apparent to all, yet, oftentimes 
fathers and mothers forget this fact, and ex- 
pect the child mind to comprehend at once, and 
demand instant obedience. It is not strange 
that sometimes the young child instinctively 
prefers to do that with which it is already 
familiar, or acts slowly in doing something new 
•and unfamiliar. It is something of the same 
quality inherent in us all — the instinctive desire 
to understand before we attempt to do. 

If we are patient and reasonable in our de- 
mands, and extend to our children the same 
courtesy which we ask for ourselves, we shall 
have much less cause for discipline. 

INDIVIDUAL TEMPERAMENT 

In all our relations with children it should be 
borne in mind that no two children are alike 
in temperament, and therefore, cannot be guid- 
ed in the same way. It is essential that we 
study the temperament of each child, and adapt 
our methods to his special need. It should fur- 
ther be considered that it is difficult to estimate 
just how much the moods and actions of chil- 



TRAINING AND EDUCATION 95 

dren are dependent upon inherited tendencies. 
For this reason we should be ever patient in 
dealing with our children, always keeping in 
mind that such tendencies can to a large ex- 
tent be overcome by proper environment and 
wise training. 

OBEDIENCE AND SELF-CONTROL 

The natural inclination of the undeveloped 
child nature is to do that which is most attrac- 
tive at the present moment. Left alone out of 
doors with a vista of green fields dotted with 
daisies and buttercups to attract, a child is apt 
to wander out of sight and hearing; in the 
house a box of matches may arouse curiosity 
and investigation, leading to serious disaster; 
and at the dinner-table, if meat, vegetables, and 
dessert are placed near at hand, the child is 
very apt to eat the dessert first, and leave the 
hearty food. 

The eager young investigator is constantly 
on the alert to test and feel of objects in the 
world about him. Without guidance injury 
may come to body and soul ; he must learn how 
far he may safely stray from the home door; 
what may or may not be handled; and how to 
conduct himself at table. Patiently and persist- 
ently he must be taught the difference between 
right and wrong, and wholesome respect for 
wise leadership. Thus does the child come to 



96 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

learn the great lessons of obedience and self- 
control. 

The child who is allowed to grow up with- 
out such training, who has not been taught 
to respect the rights of others nor the meaning 
of authority, who is allowed to eat all sorts of 
unsuitable food at all sorts of hours, and to 
have his own way because he makes so much 
disturbance, is an exceedingly disagreeable ob- 
ject, and a reproach to his parents. Further- 
more, not having learned self-control, self-de- 
nial, and respect for authority, such a child is 
bound to be at a disadvantage later in life for 
lack of that poise and stability of character, 
which mark the well rounded man or woman. 

Although the task of guiding our children 
may at times seem beset with difficulty because 
of their inborn desire to make and follow their 
own way, we should have on the other hand 
as valuable aids, their affection, their respect 
and confidence. If they love, admire and trust 
us, they will the more readily follow our lead- 
ership. 

Unless repelled, they give us their love in 
full measure; we have but to hold it fast; we 
cannot hold their love and respect by mere gifts 
and free indulgence. Our aim should be to 
show them by simple explanation and illustra- 
tion the difference between right and wrong, 
and why an* act is wrong; to give them our 
sympathetic understanding, not indulgence; to 



TRAINING AND EDUCATION 97 

share their interests, and to allow them to share 
our interests as far as may be. 

The old ideas of repression and suppression 
in the training of children are passing away. 
We want our children to be able to respect us, 
and to come to us for counsel; we want them 
to come to us feeling that we are their best 
friends, not because of any compulsion or fear. 
May they ever find us ready and sympathetic, 
and always worthy of their confidence. 

Having their love, respect and confidence we 
can do much for them, but there are also other 
factors which will help us in obtaining obed- 
ience. Children naturally like praise, which is 
only another word for appreciation, and we all 
like to have our efforts appreciated. They also 
like to do things the right way, and to see them 
come out right. They are readily interested 
and pleased; everything is new to them, and 
they are inexperienced and uncritical. If we 
are patient, and watch for the opportune mo- 
ment, we can very often lead them to a bet- 
ter understanding, and compliance with our 
wishes. 

As parents we must not expect too much of 
our little folks. The world about them is so 
full of objects and sounds to which they must 
become accustomed, and which they must learn 
to comprehend, that w r e must always be patient 
with them. They need time for perception and 
adjustment. 



98 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

It is well to remember, too, that we ourselves 
are much like the children, only larger and 
somewhat more experienced. With all our 
mature judgment and experience, we are con- 
tinually making blunders. We also like to have 
our own way, and are subject to changes of 
mood and disposition. In our relations with 
older people we recognize our own imperfec- 
tions, and endeavor to be at our best, but we 
are too apt to consider ourselves apart from 
the little folks, and forget that we owe them 
even greater courtesy and consideration be- 
cause of their inexperience. Thus do we need 
to recognize our own frailties and hold our- 
selves well in hand if we are to make the most 
of our children. Living with them day by day, 
we unconsciously shape and mold their char- 
acters by our own actions and words. They 
are watching us all the time, and learn more 
by imitation than by admonition. They have 
a right to expect much from us. If they are 
to learn self-control, respect for authority, and 
consideration for the rights of other people, it 
is essential that they should at all times see 
these qualities exemplified in the lives of those 
about them. The more we can teach by ex- 
ample, the less occasion will there be for com- 
mand or punishment. 

As children grow out of infancy and awake 
to a consciousness of self, they commence to 
express themselves in acts and words which 



TRAINING AND EDUCATION 99 

constitute behavior. To these acts and words 
we older people apply certain names. If the 
child acts contrary to our instructions we call 
it disobedience; or if he misrepresents some- 
thing we call it untruthfulness. 

Children are not born obedient or truthful; 
nor are they born disobedient or untruthful; 
but they are born with certain possibilities and 
tendencies. Some children seem to have an 
inborn sense of right; they need guidance in 
order to become adjusted to the world about 
them, but they have little difficulty in learning 
to obey, to be polite, and to tell the truth. 
Gentle manners seem natural to them, and the 
other good qualities seem to follow easily. 
There are other children unfortunately who 
have just the opposite tendencies, who are han- 
dicapped at the very beginning of life, and who 
are always in trouble. We may feel, however, 
that the great majority of children fall in neith- 
er of these classes, but are just healthy, natural 
little folk in the making, with unlimited pos- 
sibilities for good, their standards of behavior 
yet to be formed. 

Training in obedience and self-control must 
of necessity be gradual; the power to reason 
and understand is undeveloped, and naturally 
there will be lapses into disobedience and mis- 
behavior of different sorts. We cannot, how- 
ever, be too careful about judging our children 
to be disobedient or untruthful. There is a 



100 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

difference between willful disobedience and dis- 
obedience which results from lack of percep- 
tion or lack of understanding. 

In the beginning of their experience children 
frequently do things which seem disobedient 
to parents, and misuse words, simply because 
they have not learned the full significance of 
certain acts, or the correct meaning of words. 
It is our part to appreciate their difficulties in 
adjusting themselves to the world, and by ex- 
planation and interpretation, to simplify this 
adjustment as much as may be. 

It is seldom wise to exact instant obedience 
to new or unfamiliar demands; to do so is to 
invite disobedience or deceitfulness. Except in 
ordinary, familiar matters, time must be al- 
lowed for comprehension and adjustment. 
Children differ markedly in perception; some 
minds are slow, some very quick, but we must 
not expect instant comprehension. 

On the other hand, certain occasions may 
arise when prompt obedience is necessary in 
order to protect the child from mental or phys- 
ical injury, to protect the rights of other people, 
and to develop the will power and judgment 
of the child. 

Sooner or later our children must learn that 
they will frequently be obliged to give up their 
own way; hence, the habit of cheerful obed- 
ience should be acquired during these early 
years, in order that they may learn to yield 



TRAINING AND EDUCATION 101 

gracefully and courteously when occasion re- 
quires. With the exception of certain emer- 
gencies, when to wait would bring disaster, 
there is usually time before obedience is ex- 
pected for a few quiet words of explanation 
to make clear to the childish comprehension 
the reason for prompt obedience. This is only 
treating our children as we would wish to be 
treated ourselves. Adults are seldom if ever 
expected to change their plan of action without 
knowing the reasons therefor, and are apt to 
object even when obliged to change for good 
reason. There are people, however, who think 
that children should obey cheerfully without 
question. 

Some care should be taken to choose the most 
suitable time to explain matters, or to appeal 
to a child's reason. Obviously this should not 
be attempted during moments of rebellion when 
ill-temper is rife. It is when calmness and 
good-nature is restored that we should try by 
simple explanation to make clear to the child 
the reasons why one way is better than an- 
other. Frequently an apt illustration or a time- 
ly story will open the way for more complete 
understanding. 

It is best not to argue with a child. Argu- 
ment is useless as a means of enlightening the 
way of a little child, and more often leads to 
misunderstanding between parent and child. 
Oftentimes, after a few kindly words of ex- 



102 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

planation as to why we disapprove, silence will 
serve our purpose better than words, and if we 
quietly leave the child alone, he will frequently 
find his own mistake, and later show us that 
he understands. 

OVERUSE OF THE WORD "DON'T" 

Probably most parents of young children will 
admit that they overuse the word "Don't", and 
that they often use the word unnecessarily. Its 
use becomes such a habit that we forget there 
are other words which will bring about obed- 
ience even more quickly and more willingly. 
If every small misadventure is punctuated with 
the word "Don't", the day will become a con- 
stant series of "Don'ts", for it is inevitable that 
there will be many such minor mistakes during 
childhood. Children hear the word so frequent- 
ly that they give little heed to it, and learn 
little of the real meaning of obedience. As 
parents, then, we may well practice a certain 
amount of judicious letting alone, and ignore 
some of the more unimportant deviations from 
what we might consider absolutely correct. In 
our efforts to steer our little folks into the 
right path, if we would more often say 
"Keep to the right," "Lift up your feet" in- 
stead of so frequently using the word "Don't", 
obedience would come more readily and cheer- 
fully. 



TRAINING AND EDUCATION 103 

AS TO THE USE OF BRIBES AND REWARDS 

One of the most serious mistakes made in 
the training of children is to bribe or reward 
in order to secure obedience.. Once commenced, 
the demands of children are apt to become 
more and more insistent, and they become like 
so many little tyrants. Our purpose should be 
to appeal to only what is best in our children, 
to show them the right way, and expect them 
to do right because it is right. To do other- 
wise, is to appeal to the lower side of their 
nature, and must inevitably weaken their moral 
sense. The more we can take children into our 
confidence, and make clear and luminous the 
way of right and truth, the less need will there 
be for bribes and rewards. 

PUNISHMENT 

The more we can appeal to the child's reason, 
the less occasion will there be for punishment. 
Eventually children must learn to govern the 
body by the will, and normal, healthy children 
prefer to control their own actions. It should 
be our purpose to lead rather than force, to 
influence the child's mind rather than the body. 

It is well to make clear and definite to the 
child's understanding the meaning of punish- 
ment, and that wrong-doing is usually followed 
by unpleasant results. Children may be told 



104 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

that touching a hot surface or fire will burn 
and cause pain; or that if they stray from the 
home yard they may become lost, be without 
food, the protection of home, and the care of 
parents. Wrong-doing frequently brings its 
own punishment, and the lesson is thus suffi- 
ciently impressed upon the child's mind without 
further discipline, although we can often re- 
enforce the lesson by simple explanation. 

Parents will differ as to methods of punish- 
ment used, but there is common ground upon 
which all can stand. It should be used only 
with the one purpose in mind of helping the 
child to remember not to repeat a misdeed. 
If there is any other effective way to accom- 
plish this purpose, punishment should be avoid- 
ed. It should be used thoughtfully, only after 
careful consideration, and never when the par- 
ent is angry. 

A common mistake is to threaten some form 
of punishment and not carry it out. Such 
threats, often made on the impulse of the mo- 
ment, are frequently not consummated because 
in the press of other duties the parent forgets; 
or when the moment for actual punishment 
arrives the parent may feel that the threatened 
penalty is too severe, and relents. Children 
soon learn that the threats are never carried 
out, ignore them, and are very apt to lose that 
wholesome respect for parents, upon which real 
affection is founded. 



TRAINING AND EDUCATION 105 

It is best not to threaten children with cer- 
tain penalties. Aside from the fact that the 
busy parent may forget to carry them out, chil- 
dren may consider that the pleasure is worth 
the cost of disobedience. We should make the 
fact perfectly clear that discomfort or depriva- 
tion will surely follow misbehavior or disobed- 
ience, but we should not make it possible for 
children to anticipate or weigh the possibilities 
of the exact kind of punishment. 

Nor should we put off an expected punish- 
ment until the following day. This is cruelty, 
especially to sensitive children. A new day is 
a glorious opportunity for joyous living and 
work well done. Let us not mar it by un- 
pleasant reminders of the doleful mishaps of 
yesterday. 

Loud or harsh tones arouse rebellion or anger 
in strong, independent children, and frighten 
and sear the spirit of sensitive children. In 
either case such treatment is not only useless, 
so far as helping children to do better is con- 
cerned, but very often does irremediable harm. 
Lack of control or loss of temper on the part 
of parents can but result in humiliation and 
defeat. 

A parent who is a despot in the household 
is not a pleasant or gracious influence in a 
home. His children may obey, but it is that 
sullen, rebellious obedience which is an out- 
growth of fear. Obedience is desirable, but 



106 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

children cannot be spanked or whipped or scold- 
ed into doing right. Such punishment is fre- 
quently used in moments of annoyance or anger; 
indeed, it is safe to say that if parents stopped 
to think there would be very little corporal 
punishment. 

Children cannot be expected to reason or 
think very deeply, but parents surely must be 
thoughtful and reasonable and hold themselves 
well in hand, if they are to teach their children 
obedience and self-control. Impetuous, ill-con- 
sidered treatment of children will never accom- 
plish the only legitimate purpose of all dis- 
cipline, namely, to make children realize some- 
thing of genuine regret for wrong action, and 
to inspire them with a fervent desire for im- 
provement. 

There are many parents whose children show 
excellent training, who have seldom if ever 
used strap or stick; there is a constant endeavor 
to make the home a place where a spirit of all 
for each and each for all abides; where there 
is an atmosphere of good cheer and wholesome 
enjoyment; and where high standards of con- 
duct for parents as well as children prevail. 

METHODS OF CORRECTION 

There are so many excellent methods of cor- 
recting misconduct that the use of harsher 
methods is usually unnecessary. For miscon- 
duct at the table, depriving the child of dessert 
may prove effective, or having the child sit at 



TRAINING AND EDUCATION 107 

a small table alone for the remainder of the 
meal, will often teach better manners. For 
cross or saucy language, washing out the mouth 
with soap and water has helped some children 
to be more careful how they talk. Leaving the 
child alone in a room gives opportunity for 
reflection. Crying, screeching and kicking cease 
very quickly when there is nobody to notice; 
tense nerves relax, the body becomes quiet, and 
very often sleep will follow. On awaking the 
child usually greets us with sunny good nature, 
and seeks to make amends. 

One of the best ways to bring about a better 
state of mind is to take it for granted that 
the child is not well, and put him to bed in a 
quiet room, alone and without play material 
of any kind. Inasmuch as many attacks of ill- 
temper are the result of tired nerves, sleep 
often comes quickly, and the child awakes re- 
freshed and happy. Most children dislike to go 
to bed, and the lesson is seldom forgotten. 

Sending children to bed earlier than usual 
after supper will frequently teach them to re- 
member not to repeat wrong-doing. Although 
we may limit supper to crackers and milk, it is 
not good practice to send children to bed with- 
out food of some sort. Nor should we allow 
them to go to sleep without the usual kindly 
explanation and "Good-night". 

Many excellent methods of training and dis- 
cipline are used by as many different parents. 



,108 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

No matter how good the method it will not 
serve with all children, nor will it always serve 
with the same child. We must study our little 
folks, and treat each one individually. 

CHILDREN NEED PLENTY TO DO 

Idleness and mischief go hand in hand. The 
surest preventative of mischief is to provide 
plenty of occupation and play material suitable 
for the age. All normal children must be fully 
occupied with work for hand, eye and mind, 
for unless activities of the right kind are pro- 
vided, they will inevitably seek for and find the 
sort that brings disaster. 

As parents we need to remember that what 
we are apt to term "Mischief" is really the re- 
sult of a perfectly normal instinct on the part 
of children to look for something to do. We 
must also keep pace with the child's mind, 
which develops with exceeding rapidity. Nor- 
mal children rapidly outgrow their occupations 
as well as their # clothes. As the -mind develops, 
and they feel the force of new powers and ex- 
periences, they must be provided for anew. 
They are not to be treated the same way a 
month or two hence as they are today. They 
are advancing and must have new interests and 
tasks to help them develop creative power and 
judgment. Children who are without occupa- 
tion, and who are wandering aimlessly about 
asking for something to do, have simply out- 



TRAINING AND EDUCATION 109 

grown the occupations provided for them, or 
have not been taught the joy of creating new 
things. It is for parents to provide suitable 
material for constructive occupation, and to 
give them some insight into the use of material 
and tools for working out their own ideas. 

TEACH THE JOY OF WORK WELL DONE 

In all these play activities there is abundant 
opportunity to teach children the joy of work 
well done, and in the performance of their small 
duties about the house, it is well from the be- 
ginning to start them with a strong purpose 
to do well whatever they have to do. The 
world has no use for slipshod work; men and 
women are expected to do their work thor- 
oughly and completely; otherwise they fail, and 
fall behind in the race. 

Children are naturally heedless, but they also 
have an inborn desire for perfection. If then, 
we can teach them to be prompt and accurate, 
and to strive for perfection, even though they 
may often come short of the mark, we shall 
be giving them an ideal which will ultimately 
make them better citizens, and help them to 
serve mankind with greater power and effi- 
ciency. 

TRUTHFULNESS 

As our children gain steadily in habits of 
thoroughness and accuracy, they will naturally 
learn the importance and value of truth in 



110 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

thought and speech. To cultivate in our chil- 
dren the power to use simple, correct English 
in low, yet distinct and pleasing tones, is to 
add immeasurably to their charm of manner; 
but it also does more than this; children who 
learn to think and speak simply and accurately 
are not so apt to exaggerate or misrepresent 
the facts. 

Normal, healthy children growing up in a 
home atmosphere where there is at all times 
a high regard for the sacredness of truth, are 
usually truthful. They are quick to detect any 
evasion or misrepresentation of facts; hence, 
their questions should be answered with frank- 
ness and sincerity. There is always some way 
of representing the truth which is suitable for 
children, and if we are to have their full con- 
fidence and trust, we must make the truth stand 
out as clearly and distinctly as possible. The 
more accurate their ideas, the more clearly 
they can see their way. 

In this as in other matters pertaining to 
child culture, we need to remember that we 
are dealing with an untrained mind. Some- 
times children do not know they are telling 
an untruth. There are many words the mean- 
ing of which is not clear in their minds, and 
they may be telling the truth in so far as they 
understand words and facts. It is also true 
that children are not always clear in their dis- 
tinctions; they may confuse thought and real- 



TRAINING AND EDUCATION 111 

ity; they speak as they think and believe, and 
the spoken idea becomes to them reality. 

Thus it is evident that we should give the 
little folks the benefit of the doubt, and be slow- 
to show any lack of belief. In our search for 
the truth we need to exercise patience, gentle- 
ness and tact. Children have been frightened 
into telling an untruth by sharp questioning, 
impatience or indignation. Our aim should be 
to lead our children to a correct understanding 
of the difference between fact and fancy, and 
to show them that we are always ready to 
help them find the truth. 

EDUCATION 

The most valuable and important part of a 
child's education is acquired unconsciously at 
home and in the great out of doors, while the 
young mind is still free and unconfused by the 
multiplicity of school subjects. These first 
years of life afford the richest soil and the 
parent's greatest opportunity for building 
strong and deep the foundations of character. 

Children acquire knowledge not so much by 
precept or teaching as by observation and imi- 
tation; they copy the sights and sounds of the 
family life about them, and thus learn to ex- 
press themselves in words and actions. 
Throughout childhood they unconsciously imi- 
tate the language and manners of the older 
people with whom they come in contact. 



112 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

Taking these facts into consideration we can 
see where our responsibilities lead us. In so far 
as the children themselves are concerned, the 
nobler attributes of character are as easily ac- 
quired as the coarser and meaner qualities. If 
from birth children hear only language which 
is correct and pleasing, and are with people 
who are cheerful, kindly and thoughtful for 
the welfare of others, they invariably reflect 
these qualities in their own characters. On the 
other hand, children* who are obliged to live in 
a home where there is constant fault-finding, 
scolding and strife, are bound sooner or later 
to show such qualities in their behavior. 

When we see older children and men and 
women who have personal charm and gracious- 
ness of manner, we are too much inclined to 
regard this graciousness of manner as a rare 
and precious gift, but it is probably more fre- 
quently the result of careful training by 
thoughtful parents during the first six or eight 
years of life, in the two great qualities upon 
which personal charm depends, namely, un- 
selfishness, and thoughtfulness for the pleasure 
and comfort of others. 

Little children are discoverers and explorers 
setting out on the most wonderful of journeys 
in a world full of strange people and marvelous 
countries. They are in the morning of life; 
everything is new and fresh and mysterious. 
Fortunate indeed are we who have the privi- 



TRAINING AND EDUCATION 113 

lege of faring forth as the companions of our 
children; of seeing with their eyes the glories 
of the fields, the flowers, the trees, and the 
marvels of the starry heavens; of listening with 
them to the songs of the birds, the joyous notes 
of all insect life; the sighing of the wind in 
the tree-tops, and the breaking of the surf on 
the sandy shore. 

As older comrades let us answer their eager 
questioning with an understanding sympathy 
which shall always bring them to our side in 
time of need. It is for us to explain and in- 
terpret to our children as best we may the 
meaning of all the sights and sounds of the 
great world. Simple as their questions may 
appear to our mature minds, we should meet 
them with patience and sincerity. Often the 
questions may not be so simple, and we may 
find ourselves surprised that some particular 
point had not occurred to us before. We shall 
learn as well as the children, and in their 
blessed companionship we shall see new radi- 
ance and loveliness in the beautiful things of 
earth. 

INSTRUCTION CONCERNING THE ORIGIN OF LIFE 

Many children ask questions concerning the 
origin of life before they reach the age of seven 
years. It is perfectly natural and normal that 
they should be curious in regard to the advent 
of the young stranger in home or neighborhood. 



114 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

They are interested in everything that lives and 
changes and grows. 

As soon as children are old enough to won- 
der and ask questions, they are old enough to 
be told the more elemental truths in regard to 
sex and reproduction, and the parents should 
be the first teachers. Too often parents avoid 
this important duty, and when children ask the 
first question either silence them at once, or 
change the subject. Children are quick to de- 
tect evasion or deception, and soon learn that 
their parents do not wish to talk about these 
matters. 

Parents should not deceive themselves. Chil- 
dren must mingle with other children more and 
more as school life begins, and few children 
reach the age of ten without acquiring some 
sort of knowledge concerning the subject, how- 
ever crude it may be. It is much to be pre- 
ferred that they should be told the truth in 
clean language by parents who love them, than 
that their ideas should be corrupted by the 
coarse exaggeration and vulgarity of chance 
acquaintances. 

When children are repulsed by those nearest 
to them, and learn to hide their thoughts from 
their parents, there is built up between children 
and parents a dangerous reserve, and as they 
approach the critical years of adolescence, there 
will be lacking that complete confidence be- 
tween parents and children so sorely needed 
at this time. 



TRAINING AND EDUCATION 115 

Children should be taught from the earliest 
years to bring all questions to mother and 
father, and should be made to feel that they 
will always be sure of a sympathetic hearing*. 
Answers to questions should be so frank and 
straight-forward that not the slightest doubt 
will remain in the child's mind as to the par- 
ent's sincerity. We cannot keep our children 
innocent by keeping them ignorant. The best 
way to avoid morbid curiosity is to satisfy nor- 
mal curiosity. 

In talking with children it is best to present 
only the normal aspect of the subject. First 
impressions are always the strongest and deep- 
est; therefore, we should see to it that the 
earliest impressions are correct and of a high 
order. From the very first children should be 
made to feel the sacredness of parenthood. 
They will naturally think of it in this way if 
their ideas of sex and parenthood are not dis- 
torted by fanciful stories or evasive replies to 
questions. 

Let us teach our children that this great 
function is intimately related to the mental, 
moral and physical welfare of the race. The 
whole subject needs to be divested of the cloak 
of secretiveness and prudery; bring it out into 
the light of day, and thus dignify and ennoble 
it with the transparency of truth and whole- 
someness. 



116 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

When the child asks the first question con- 
cerning the new baby, the parent should give 
the real truth. We need not be experts to 
satisfy the normal curiosity of a little child. 
The simple truths given with frankness and 
sincerity in plain, simple language, are more 
easily comprehended by the child. It is best 
to give only one or two facts at one time, and 
children will probably ask about some of the 
fundamental truths several times before they 
fully understand. The answering of a question 
may take the form of a quiet talk, and should 
be unhurried and undisturbed, for we are build- 
ing foundations, and lasting impressions are be- 
ing made. 

In simple words, then, we may tell the chil- 
dren that the baby comes from the mother, 
that while it is little the mother keeps it in a 
warm, safe place right under her own heart. 
At first the baby is very little, so small that it 
must stay a long time where it is warm and 
safe. All this time while the baby is growing 
strong enough to live outside, the mother and 
father are thinking about it. The mother is 
making little clothes for it, and the father is 
working hard so that he can buy everything 
needed to make the mother and baby com- 
fortable. The father watches over the mother 
very carefully, for he does not want her to 
work too hard. When the baby has grown 
strong enough it leaves its warm nest, and the 



TRAINING AND EDUCATION 117 

mother and father are glad to have the little 
one in their arms and care for it. 

It is entirely natural, and need not surprise 
parents, if children ask how the baby comes 
out, or how it is born, and why the doctor 
comes. It is much better for the parent to 
answer than for the information to be given 
by strangers, who may distort the facts, or be 
careless as to choice of words. No details con- 
cerning birth should be given, but the simple 
fact stated that there is a passageway which 
enlarges sufficiently to allow the baby to come 
out, and the doctor comes to see that the baby 
is born safely, and to tell the parents how to 
care for the little one. 

Just how much information should be given 
to children will depend upon their age, environ- 
ment and development. We must be guided by 
their questions, answering them frankly and 
simply as they occur. Certain children may 
never ask any questions; such children should 
be observed closely in order to circumvent any 
outside influences in this respect. 

During these first years when they are most 
easily guided into a clean and wholesome view 
of physical life, it is desirable to impress upon 
their minds the importance of personal clean- 
liness. The time of bathing and dressing offers 
an opportunity to mention to children that the 
sex organs should not be touched except to 
wash them, adding if necessary that any hand- 



118 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

ling of the parts interferes with good health 
and growth. Brevity is desirable in speaking 
about such matters, avoiding undue emphasis 
or any words which might arouse curiosity. 

We should also make it plain from the be- 
ginning that well-bred children never talk about 
these matters with other people, but only with 
their own father and mother, who can tell them 
more about what they want to know, and who 
will always be glad to answer questions; also, 
that it is better to ask about these matters 
when mother and father are alone, rather than 
in the presence of other people. 

As children grow older and enter school life, 
parents will need to observe closely in order 
to prevent the acquisition of spurious or un- 
wholesome knowledge. A little unobtrusive 
questioning occasionally will show whether 
they have been talking with people outside the 
home. The parent should correct any false im- 
pressions, and be sure that the children under- 
stand and know the truth. 

If the subject is approached with some care 
and thoughtfulness, it can be presented to chil- 
dren in an entirely wholesome manner, and they 
may be impressed with the sacredness of home 
and family life, as well as by the love and de- 
votion of the mother and father. 



STEADY NERVES AND HEALTHY MIND 



"A sound mind in a sound body; if the former be the glory of 
the latter, the latter is indispensable to the former." — Edwards. 



'To look up and not down; 
To look forward and not back; 
To look out and not in, 
and to lend a hand." 

— Edward Everett Hale. 



CHAPTER VII 

STEADY NERVES AND HEALTHY MIND 

A group of merry children, sunny tempered, 
cheery and wholesome, robust of body, and 
healthy in mind, is a heartening sight, and 
makes the whole community a blithesome place 
in which to live. Fortunately for the world in 
general, there are many such children. On the 
other hand, there are far too many children of 
the other kind; little folks w T ho are thin and 
pale, silent and unsmiling, irritable or sullen; 
and others who are precocious and old beyond 
their years, and this is a sad and disheartening 
state of affairs. The first picture is the most 
beautiful sight in the world; the latter is the 
saddest. 

The fact is becoming more and more apparent 
that disorders of the nerves and mind are on 
the increase. Many of these disorders have 
their beginnings during the early years of child- 
hood, and we are rapidly coming to feel that 
there must be a large and important work done 
in the home during the first years of life to pre- 
vent the inception of these disorders. 

Conditions and happenings which seem trivial 
and unimportant very often form the basis of 
the nerve disorders of adult life. Most chil- 
dren are on certain occasions restless or peev- 

121 



122 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

ish, and all children are more or less self-con- 
scious and timid, but when such symptoms 
become more constant and pronounced, we 
must scrutinize carefully our ways of living 
and home conditions for possible sources of 
irritation which may be causing nervous strain. 

There will always be a difference of opinion 
as to whether a child's heredity or environment 
has most to do with its future life and condi- 
tion. Perhaps we are too ready to ascribe cer- 
tain unpleasant traits to inheritance. We may 
be sure that both nature and nurture are of 
great importance. To what extent the child 
nature is influenced by the characteristics of 
parents and grandparents is impossible to esti- 
mate. We may assure ourselves that the 
stronger and nobler qualities are inherited as 
well as the weaker. Very many thoughtful 
people feel that with most children, coming 
from good average racial stocks, suitable sur- 
roundings and careful training will offset many 
undesirable inherited characteristics. 

Parents may well bear in mind the fact that 
during these early years the child's brain and 
nervous system are in an undeveloped, unstable 
condition, and should be carefully, guarded 
against over stimulation; such care should com- 
mence in early infancy, and continue through- 
out childhood. 

During the first year of life children should 
simply sleep, eat and grow. They will usually 



NERVES AND MIND 123 

sleep eighteen and often twenty hours out of 
the twenty-four during the first six months, 
and sixteen to eighteen hours of the day during 
the second six months of life. Aside from 
providing proper food at regular intervals, 
plenty of fresh air, and keeping them clean and 
dry, parents may well follow a policy of judi- 
cious letting alone, allowing the dawning in- 
telligence to unfold itself. 

No toys or other means of amusement are 
needed during the first half year, and even 
during the latter half, it is best to allow chil- 
dren to amuse themselves most of the time. 
Only a few very simple toys are needed. Young 
children become irritable and do not sleep well 
if constantly subjected to the excitement of 
play. Playing with infants at bedtime is a 
common cause of sleeplessness. Especially in- 
jurious is the practice of tossing them and 
catching them in the arms, or other violent 
exercise. Such amusement is bound to result 
in loss of sleep, indigestion and nervous irri- 
tability. 

After the first year, and all through the 
foundation years, the same careful planning of 
the child's life must be continued if we would 
have children with rosy cheeks, clear eyes, 
steady nerves and sunny dispositions. Factors 
of the most vital importance are a well bal- 
anced diet, abundance of sleep, plenty of fresh 
air, carefully supervised play activities and out- 



124 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

door exercise with other children. These are 
fundamental necessities in the healthy develop- 
ment of all children. Lacking any one of these 
fundamentals must ultimately prove detrimen- 
tal to the child's mental and moral well-being. 

One factor which stands out more and more 
clearly as a cause of stunting of body and 
mind is lack of proper food during these early 
years. The matter of nutrition and the train- 
ing of children in regard to the fundamentals 
of careful living has been so thoroughly con- 
sidered in Chapter III, that it is mentioned 
here only for re-emphasis. Probably the most 
common cause of poor nutrition, and the most 
serious mistake made by parents is allowing 
children to choose their own food. Obviously, 
little children know nothing about food values; 
they are not capable of choosing a well balanced, 
body-building diet. Parents should choose foods 
which are known to be nutritious. No greater 
blessing can be conferred upon children than 
to accustom them to eat and digest plain, 
wholesome food. Children who are permitted 
to acquire a dislike for wholesome foods, suf- 
fer from poor nutrition, loss of sleep, and are 
very apt to develop disorders of the nerves later in 
life. 

A sound mind is dependent upon a sound 
body. Children who lack healthy outdoor play 
and muscular exercise, are often timid and lack 
self-reliance and courage. Those who are 



NERVES AND MIND 125 

trained to like healthy exercise out of doors 
acquire much more than muscular strength and 
skill in outdoor sports. A strong, erect body 
and good, rich blood gives a sense of well-being 
and power, of self-reliance and hardihood. 

Girls and boys alike need outdoor sports. 
They need to dig, to climb, to run, and to 
play ball. Our girls must be fearless and self- 
reliant as well as our boys. Some judicious 
hardening of the body is desirable. This does 
not mean to go without stockings in cold 
weather; nor does it mean that we should have 
our children take plunges into cold water; such 
practices are fully as harmful as too much 
coddling. 

It is well to accustom their bodies to cool 
air, cool baths, and to exercise out of doors in 
cold as well as warm weather. Protected by 
rubber coats and rubber boots they can enjoy 
themselves out of doors on rainy days. Too 
closely housed, and over-sensitive to slight 
changes of temperature, children are bound to 
suffer sooner or later. On the other hand, if 
each morning they are given a quick rubbing 
with cool water over the face, chest and back, 
and a good rub-down with the towel until the 
skin is glowing, and if they learn to go out of 
doors every day, rain or shine, cold or warm, 
the skin and nervous system quickly become 
inured to all sorts of weather, and the children 
benefit not only in strong, healthy bodies, but 



126 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

in a robustness of character and in a steadiness 
of nerve, which will help them to overcome 
obstacles, and to endure hardship without com- 
plaint. 

There is also what might be called a strength- 
ening of the spirit as well as hardening of the 
body. Sooner or later children must meet with 
more or less discomfort, pain and disappoint- 
ment. Becoming accustomed to cool baths, 
walking, playing and exercising in all kinds of 
weather, will teach children to bear pain, and 
to ignore discomforts. 

Children who have not learned in childhood 
to bear pain with fortitude, or to adjust them- 
selves without complaint to the unpleasant ex- 
periences and disagreeable sensations which are 
part of everyday living, will find it increasingly 
difficult to adapt themselves to the people with 
whom they must associate, and to the condi- 
tions which surround them. As a result they 
live too much within themselves, and it becomes 
more and more difficult to mingle and talk with 
other people, which is so essential to whole- 
some living. It is such children who are sub- 
ject to nervous and mental breakdown later 
in life. 

Children are naturally capricious in their likes 
and dislikes; they are very apt to complain 
about certain smells and tastes, and may be 
over-sensitive to certain noises and bright 
lights. To indulge such over-sensitiveness is a 



NERVES AND MIND 127 

serious injustice to children, for it increases 
as the years go on. Parents may endure it, but 
as children enter school and come in contact 
with other people, they will find themselves at 
a disadvantage, and unable to adjust themselves 
to other children and conditions. They are left 
more and more to themselves, become more 
and more sensitive, morose and even peculiar. 

There is little doubt that many nervous break- 
downs of adult life might be prevented by judi- 
cious training during the early years. If we 
can train children to a wholesome toleration 
of the ordinary discomforts and disagreeable 
sensations which are bound to come to them 
in life, they will meet the more acute hardships 
with greater courage, and the task of teaching 
them self-control under trying situations will 
be made much easier. 

Children should begin to learn self-control 
during infancy. A good start will have been 
made if they are trained in regularity as re- 
gards feeding and sleeping. If they learn that 
by crying or by an outburst of temper, they 
can obtain what they want, then surely, they 
will have made a sorry beginning toward at- 
taining self-mastery. 

The parent who gives children whatever they 
desire in order to quiet them is paving the way 
for serious trouble later on. If instead of such 
indulgence children are told that they must 
first control themselves, and then in a polite 



128 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

manner make their request, they will soon 
learn that they can attain their desire only by 
controlling themselves, and not by emotional 
outbursts. While such training is easy if com- 
menced early, it becomes very difficult if left 
until later in life. 

Children should also learn to bear disappoint- 
ment. Life is full of disappointments as it is 
also full of successes and surprises. If disap- 
pointment is treated as something to be 
avoided it will be much harder to bear when 
it does come. It is much better to teach chil- 
dren to meet it as an interesting experience, 
and to turn defeat into victory by accomplish- 
ing something new and useful. 

As children grow older, and become more and 
more aware of themselves as individuals and 
conscious of what is going on around them, 
they will, as a matter of course, be exposed to 
more or less daily friction. Criticism or blam- 
ing other people in the presence of children is 
very apt to make them over critical and in- 
tolerant in their attitude toward others. 

Just as cheerfulness and good-nature are con- 
tagious, so unfortunately, are moroseness, un- 
charitableness, and ill-will. The latter are un- 
healthy attitudes of mind, and must inevitably 
have disastrous effect upon a child's disposition 
and nervous system. It should be possible to 
eliminate a large part of the discord in family 
life. Children should be taught both by ex- 



NERVES AND MIND 129 

ample and counsel to master irritability, and 
to cultivate a charitable and tolerant attitude 
toward other people. 

Parents should endeavor to prevent the har- 
boring of a grudge, or the continuance of dis- 
agreeable moods for any length of time. Pout- 
ing, sulking, or dark looks of any kind, show- 
that children are bearing malice for some rea- 
son. Such moods have a blighting influence on 
a child's mind, and if they become habitual, 
are apt to develop into more serious mental 
states later in life. Dark moods, however, are 
usually of short duration if parents endeavor 
to understand their children, and look for and 
correct the cause of irritability. 

Unhealthy moods seldom survive very long 
in an atmosphere of good cheer, and if chil- 
dren are provided with suitable occupation. A 
child may seem dull, stupid or sullen simply be- 
cause objects which interest some children have 
no interest for him, but some day the child may 
be found completely absorbed in some occu- 
pation unthought of by the parents, but in- 
tensely interesting to him. Thus, unexpectedly, 
may be revealed to us the child's natural in- 
clination to one of the useful arts or sciences, 
and that the reason for the apparent dullness 
and moroseness, was lack of suitable occupa- 
tion. To follow up this clew to the child's 
nature, and to provide resources for the de- 
velopment of such inherent possibilities, is part 



120 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

of the parent's task. Our efforts will often be 
rewarded by seeing an apparently dull, sulking 
child become wide-awake, smiling and agree- 
able. 

Another mental attitude which needs to be 
carefully watched is the abnormal craving of 
some children for sympathy. It is best for 
them to learn to bear small hurts and dis- 
appointments without too much help from par- 
ents. Teach them to laugh at small hurts and 
difficulties; they will be much happier as the 
years bring larger difficulties, for having had 
such training in hardihood and self-reliance. 

It is a serious mistake to foster too great 
dependence on the mother. This does not pre- 
clude the respect and devotion which is every 
mother's due, but it is an injustice to children 
to encourage them to be so dependent that they 
lack backbone and self-reliance. As soon as 
possible they should be taught to wash and 
dress themselves, to comb their own hair, to 
clean their teeth, and to put away their own 
clothes and playthings. 

For the same reason it is best for children 
to sleep alone in a separate room from the 
parents. There are too many frail, nervous 
children who have been brought up from in- 
fancy to depend upon the mother; who are 
afraid to go to bed alone; who fear the dark- 
ness of night, and who demand that they be 
rocked and sung to sleep. Such treatment is 



NERVES AND MIND 131 

mistaken kindness, for children become over- 
sensitive, timid, and fearful. As they grow 
older and meet other boys and girls, they are 
handicapped in sports and occupation because 
they lack courage and initiative. 

From earliest infancy children should be 
taught to sleep alone without rocking and with- 
out a light in the room. Excessive timidity or 
fear should have no place in the minds of little 
children. Both states may easily develop into 
serious nervous disorders. No toy, game or 
story should carry any suggestion of fear, and 
children should be taught that mice, worms and 
toads are harmless, and learn to look upon them 
with interest rather than fear. 

All stories which have any suggestion of fear, 
such as ghost stories, or tales about goblins, 
ogres, the bogey-man, witches, bears or wolves, 
should be excluded. A child's imagination may 
magnify seemingly harmless tales into dreams 
of frightful monsters. On the other hand, there 
are many stories about the stars and the won- 
ders of the heavens, the birds, and trees of 
wood and field, which have only suggestions 
of the beauty and glory of the wonderful world 
in which we live. 

Children should be taught to welcome the 
night as soothing and friendly, and that dark- 
ness is given us to rest the eyes and for sleep; 
that outside the stars are gleaming in the 
heavens, and that there is One who never 



132 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

sleeps, but watches over and cares for little 
children. 

The storm, the thunder and lightning, should 
be explained to little children. If they are 
taught in early childhood something of the 
meaning of the great forces of Nature, and if 
they see those around them calm and fearless, 
they also will learn to be fearless. Such times 
would seem to be opportunities given to par- 
ents to impress upon the child mind the pres- 
ence in the universe of a Higher Power, and 
to implant the beginnings of faith. Certainly 
no greater protection against unrest, fear, and 
anxiety of spirit, can be given to children than 
a sense of dependence upon a Supreme Being. 

One of the most common causes of a troubled 
mind is vacillation. While some children are 
impetuous by nature, and need to learn to be 
more deliberate in deciding matters, many 
others have a tendency to indecision. A very 
useful lesson for them to learn, and one which 
will stand them in good stead in years to come, 
is the power of making a quick decision and 
holding to it. 

Another cause of overstimulation of the nerv- 
ous system is the practice of allowing children 
to have experiences which properly belong to 
older people. Precociousness in children is not 
to be desired. It is a well known fact that 
unusually clever children often have weak and 
stunted bodies; the mind has been developed at 



NERVES AND MIND 133 

the expense of the physical powers. Extensive 
travel, the visiting of museums and picture gal- 
leries, except those especially planned for chil- 
dren; the theatre, the opera, the most of the 
moving picture entertainments, are wholly un- 
suited to the immaturity and simplicity of the 
child. 

To allow children to attend such entertain- 
ments is to force and stimulate the child nature, 
thus robbing it of its greatest charm, namely, 
that simplicity and artlessness which is so at- 
tractive and appealing in little children. More- 
over, by introducing them to such entertain- 
ments during the early years we deprive them 
of the pleasure which should be theirs later on, 
when they are capable of appreciating some of 
the real masterpieces in art, music, and the 
drama; the attractiveness and freshness of 
novelty is gone. 

Of all the good and wholesome pleasures of 
life which make for healthy nerves and normal 
minds, the joy and satisfaction derived from 
suitable occupation and work well done, must 
be regarded as one of the most important. 
Children who are idle, who lack occupation, are 
not happy and contented, and become irritable 
and morose. 

The importance of providing proper occupa- 
tion for children has been considered in detail 
in Chapter V. While we should guard our 
children against excessive fatigue of body and 



134 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

mind, it is highly essential to their best de- 
velopment and good health, that they be sup- 
plied with materials and occupation for hands 
and mind suitable for their age. 

If the children can live in the country, and 
have all the benefits of ample space and coun- 
try air, much will be gained toward building 
sound minds in sound bodies. The present in- 
clination of our people to crowd into the large 
cities is a dangerous tendency, and must in- 
evitably tend to weaken the mental, moral and 
physical welfare of the race. 

The city is a sterile waste for most children. 
Mental and physical development is stunted 
for lack of opportunity for wholesome, outdoor 
play. The country, on the other hand, affords 
boundless opportunity for healthy occupation 
and play in forest, field and garden. Parents 
of city children will need to make special effort 
to provide healthy surroundings, and to open 
up some possibilities for suitable play with 
other children. Public spirited men and wo- 
men especially interested in the welfare of 
children have established museums for chil- 
dren in a few of our large cities, but the pros- 
pects for healthy play for city children is ex- 
tremely limited. 

Children need to live and play with other 
children. They need to play vigorously and 
even aggressively, taking the knocks and dis- 
appointments without malice, and learning from 



NERVES AND MIND 135 

this give and take to be tolerant and good- 
natured toward others. If instead of such com- 
radeship a child is too much by itself, there 
comes a time when he cannot seem to get on 
good terms with other children; he becomes 
absorbed in his own fancies, resents interfer- 
ence, is over-sensitive to knocks and disappoint- 
ments, and resents and broods over them. Such 
a child is more likely than others to develop 
mental disorder. 

In all our efforts to give our children a 
healthy outlook on life, we must always re- 
member that they are easily influenced by the 
words and actions of those with whom they 
are associated. If they hear much complaining 
about ills and aches of different sorts, and of 
being "nervous", they are very apt to reflect 
such complaints in their own lives. It is a 
serious mistake to talk about nervousness or 
any diseased condition in their presence. They 
are impressionable and self-conscious, and it is 
best to direct their attention away from them- 
selves, and from thoughts of unhealthy states, 
to wholesome play and more cheerful subjects. 

If children seem nervous, irritable and more 
restless than children should be, talking about 
such states of mind and body in their hearing 
will not improve matters, but rather make 
them worse. Many times it is not the children 
who are too restless or nervous, but the parents 
may be over tired, and the natural vivacity of 



136 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

childhood seems to the mature mind almost 
superabundant. As parents we need to look 
upon this exuberant energy with tolerance and 
patience; to remember that nearly all robust 
children are the same; that probably we were 
the same when we were children, and that it is 
our part to provide suitable occupation in order 
that their natural buoyancy may find expres- 
sion in a normal way. 

An atmosphere of sorrow, regret or fear is 
depressing and damaging to the impressionable 
child nature. On the other hand, an atmos- 
phere of cheery helpfulness, of joyful expecta- 
tion concerning the possibilities of each new 
day, and of resolute faith and courage, is heart- 
ening and rejuvenating. 

To cultivate in our children a love for genu- 
ine goodness wherever seen; a love for truth, 
for humanity, and for Nature in all her vari- 
ous moods, cannot help but enrich the char- 
acter, and strengthen the will. To live bravely 
and wholesomely they must also learn to meet 
each day as it comes, and to make the most 
of it; to look upon each morning as the begin- 
ning of a new day to make better than the 
day before; to forget the grudges of yester- 
day; to never look back, but always forward; 
"to look up and not down; to look out and not 
in," and always to lend a hand. 

Such are some of the more essential factors 
to be considered in our efforts to safeguard the 



NERVES AND MIND 137 

child's nervous system. As we endeavor to 
put them into practice we may hope that not 
only are we leading our own children into 
healthy ways of thinking and living, but we 
are also doing our fair share in the work of 
lessening the present deplorable condition of 
nerve weakness, and of fostering higher stand- 
ards of health in the Nation. 



CARE OF THE CHILD'S BODY 



"He who has health has hope, and he who has hope has every- 
thing."— Arabian Proverb. 



"The first wealth is health. Sickness is poor spirited, and cannot 
serve any one; it must husband its resources to live. But health a 
fullness answers its own ends, and has to spare, runs over, and 
inundates the neighborhoods and creeks of other men's necessities." — 
Emerson. 



CHAPTER VIII 

CARE OF THE CHILD'S BODY 

For the child-nature to be at its best the 
temple within which it dwells must be kept 
in order. To build into a child's character high 
standards of personal cleanliness is one of the 
most valuable services parents can render. 

CARE OF THE SKIN 

The importance of the role of the skin in 
maintaining bodily health deserves some care- 
ful consideration. It is not merely a protective 
covering for the body. It is an organ of sen- 
sation, and the great heat regulator of the body. 
Its millions of sweat-glands pour out the pers- 
piration, which in hot weather cools the body 
by evaporation, while in cold weather they con- 
tract, thus conserving the body heat. 

The skin must also be regarded as an organ 
of excretion vitally essential to the body health, 
a large amount of waste material being thrown 
off by the sweat glands. Upon a healthy con- 
dition of the skin depends to a large degree the 
activity of the circulation ; thus, the importance 
of keeping the skin clean and active becomes 
apparent. 

141 



142 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 
BATHING 

Regular bathing cleanses the skin, opens the 
pores of the sweat-glands, stimulates the cir- 
culation of the blood, and refreshes the nerves. 

All sorts of bath-tubs are used for young 
children, depending upon conditions, and wheth- 
er the house is fitted with modern plumbing, 
but whatever the living conditions may be, it 
is always possible to have some sort of baths. 
Elaborate fittings are unnecessary. An ordi- 
nary wash-tub with soap, water and towels con- 
stitute the really necessary equipment, and 
these are available everywhere. When a bath- 
tub in a modern bath-room is available, there 
is no reason why children two years and up- 
ward should not be bathed in the large tub 
if the bath-room can be kept sufficiently warm 
in winter. Such a bath-tub is large enough for 
some splashing and real fun, so that children 
anticipate and enjoy the bath. 

Some mothers, however, prefer the small tub, 
especially during the second and third years of 
the child's life. Of the small tubs probably 
the best is the oval enamelware tub, thirty- 
two to thirty-six inches in length. This can 
be placed inside the large bath-tub, or on a 
board laid across the top of the large set tub, 
but most children will enjoy the bath in a 
large tub. The room in which children are to 
be bathed should be warmed to about 72° to 
75° F. 



CARE OF THE CHILD'S BODY 143 

In bathing the child the head and neck are 
first washed and dried, then arms and chest, 
after which the child stands in the warm water, 
the remainder of the body is washed, and the 
bath is finished by pouring a pitcher of luke- 
warm water over the entire body. This should 
be followed by a brisk but thorough drying 
with the bath-towel until the body is aglow. 

The warm water bath, at 95° to 98° F. is 
given with soap, for the purpose of cleansing 
the skin. It opens the pores of the skin and 
relaxes the muscles and nerves. The best time 
for such a bath is before going to bed, as it 
soothes the nerves, tends to make the child 
sleepy, and there is less possibility of taking 
cold at this time. Twice a week is as often 
as the warm bath should be given, and it should 
not be prolonged beyond ten or fifteen minutes. 

THE DAILY BATH 

For the daily bath the temperature of the 
water should be tepid, or about 90° F. The 
best time for this bath is on rising in the 
morning, and it should be given quickly. After 
using the luke-warm water and soap, cool water 
at about 85° F. may be used to rinse off the 
soap, close the pores and stimulate the skin. 
This bath should not last over five minutes, 
and should be followed by brisk drying with 
towel, which should produce a good reaction. 
During later childhood, the temperature of the 



144 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

water for the morning bath may gradually be 
reduced to 75° to 80° F. A bath thermometer 
is an inexpensive convenience for the bath- 
room. At no time of life is it wise to have a 
bath soon after a meal. 

One of the best means of preventing children 
taking cold is to gradually accustom them to 
the cold douche, by splashing cool water over 
neck, chest and arms as they stand with feet 
in warm water. During the splashing cr show- 
er, if the child is taught to rub and slap the 
body with the hands, the tonic effect of the 
bath will be increased, and reaction will be 
better. When there is a shower attachment in 
the bath-room children easily become accus- 
tomed to the morning cool shower, enjoy it 
greatly, and are much benefited thereby. The 
room should be comfortably warm, the bath 
brief, not over a minute long, and followed by 
brisk friction with the towel, until the body 
is dry and glowing. 

Most robust children show good reaction to 
such a bath, and learn to like the glow and 
tingle of it, but any child who invariably shiv- 
ers after the brisk rub-down, and who shows 
poor reaction, as evidenced by bluish lips and 
finger-tips, or if a child seems weak and languid 
after the cold bath, it is not suitable for such 
a child and should be discontinued. The tepid 
bath is more suitable for such children, fol- 
lowed by friction of the entire body with a 



CARE OF THE CHILD'S BODY 145 

moderately coarse towel. Rapid rubbing of the 
body with a towel wrung out of salt water, 
followed by friction with a dry towel, may well 
take the place of the cold bath with such chil- 
dren, and gives the warmth and glow without 
the shock. 

Children will also enjoy having a bath-towel 
of their own, and helping in the after-bath rub- 
down. Parental supervision will be necessary 
to see that it is done thoroughly, but if chil- 
dren are taught to dry themselves front and 
back, they will derive some healthful exercise 
and considerable pleasure from it. 

Some children are frequently kept awake at 
night by cold feet. For this condition a brisk 
rubbing of the feet every night, after dipping 
them in cold water in which is dissolved a hand- 
ful of coarse salt, will be beneficial. 

SOAPS AND POWDERS 

Soap should be pure and not too strong. 
Highly perfumed and fancy soaps are apt to 
be irritating to the skin. Soap should lather 
freely, and after using it should be entirely 
removed by rinsing. Irritation and chafing of 
the skin is most frequently caused by lack of 
thorough rinsing and drying. 

Powder should be pure, unscented, and used 
sparingly from a sprinkle-top container to pre- 
vent chafing where surfaces of the skin come 
together, such as about the neck, arm-pits, 



146 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

groins and buttocks. Even in such places it is 
better to remove the excess by a bit of ab- 
sorbant cotton. 

Ointments clog the pores of the skin, and 
are unnecessary when the skin is healthy. The 
less creams and ointments used the better, un- 
less clearly indicated by some abnormal condi- 
tion of the body, and should be prescribed by 
a physician. 

A soft, loosely woven wash-rag and a bath- 
towel should be provided for each child, and 
children should be taught to hang them up to 
dry after using. Old soft turkish toweling, or 
old knitted underwear may be cut in suitable 
sizes, and used for wash-rags. 

KEEPING THE HANDS CLEAN 

Most children are heedless about proper 
cleansing of the hands. There is no doubt that 
disease germs are carried to the nose and mouth 
by the hands. To prevent the carrying of 
disease in this way, children should be taught 
the importance of washing the hands after 
visiting the toilet, after using the handkerchief, 
and before eating or handling food of any kind. 

In order that this important duty may be 
more easily carried out by young children, 
basins, towels, soap and water should be easy 
of access. It may be necessary to provide a 
box or stool upon which little folks may stand 



CARE OF THE CHILD'S BODY 147 

when washing, in order to reach the basin com- 
fortably without wetting the clothes. 

CARE OF THE GENITAL ORGANS 

Some attention should be given to the genital 
organs at the daily bath. The parts of a fe- 
male child may be easily cleansed with bits of 
absorbant cotton dipped in warm boric acid 
solution, two teaspoonfuls of powder to the 
pint of water. After cleansing, the parts should 
be thoroughly dried and kept dry with plain 
unscented dusting powder. When there is a 
discharge present, the boric acid solution should 
be used twice daily. If the discharge is per- 
sistent, medical advice should be sought. 

The genital organs of the male child also 
need some care. During infancy and early 
childhood the foreskin should be pushed com- 
pletely back two or three times weekly, and 
the parts gently cleansed with absorbant cotton 
dipped in water, and dried with plain, boric-acid 
dusting powder, not leaving any excess powder, 
after which the foreskin should be drawn for- 
ward again. 

When the foreskin is so long and tight that 
is cannot be pushed back without force, cir- 
cumcision is advisable. 

CARE OF THE HAIR 

The scalp needs to be cleansed as well as the 
skin or other parts of the body. While the 



148 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

child has short hair it should be washed as 
often as once a week, and sometimes two sham- 
poos weekly may be necessary. 

The scalp is so much more easily kept clean 
when the hair is short that little girls may 
with advantage and comfort wear it that way 
until twelve years of age. 

Any pure soap not too strong which makes 
a good lather, will serve to cleanse the scalp. 
After rubbing the lather thoroughly into all 
parts of the scalp, the soap should be removed 
by several rinsings, the first rinsing just com- 
fortably warm, each rinsing being cooler until 
the last is cold. 

Care must be taken to rub the scalp and 
hair completely dry. In warm weather when 
nearly dry the hair may hang loose, and dry 
completely in the sun, avoiding too lengthy ex- 
posure to hot sunlight. Brushes and combs 
need frequent and thorough washing, drying in 
open air and sunshine if possible, 

CARE OF THE EYES 

The care of the child's eyes should com- 
mence at birth and continue throughout child- 
hood. Many eye troubles may be prevented by 
careful attention during the first years of life. 
A child showing any tendency to cross-eye or 
other abnormalities, should be placed under the 
care of a physician who makes a special study 
of the eye. Normal eyesight is such a priceless 



CARE OF THE CHILD'S BODY 149 

possession that we should make every effort 
to see that our children have it. 

The eyes have a great deal to do with the 
health and normal development of children. 
When a child is apparently slow or dull in 
school-work the eyes should receive careful 
consideration, for the child may be suffering 
from near-sightedness or far-sightedness. It 
has happened quite frequently that when such 
disorders are corrected by proper glasses, chil- 
dren show marked improvement not only in 
school-work, but in general health. 

Some special supervision is necessary in or- 
der to prevent children from injuring their eyes. 
If it is noticed that a child persistently holds 
a book or whatever is in hand, nearer than 
fourteen inches, we may suspect some eye- 
trouble, and should consult a physician. 

Unless watched carefully and cautioned, chil- 
dren may read without sufficient light, by an 
unsteady or poorly adjusted light, or read too 
long at a time. They should not read at a 
table so low as to require stooping, and if the 
table is highly polished, some covering of dull- 
faced, dark-colored material which does not re- 
flect the light, should be provided. 

To prevent over-strain of the children's eyes 
while they are reading or studying, they should 
be taught to raise the eyes frequently and look 
out of the windows, or into a distant corner 
of the room, thus resting the muscles of the 



150 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

eyes whch have been busy with close applica- 
tion. It is also wise to teach them when out 
of doors, to look away over stretches of field, 
woodland or water, in order that the eyes 
may be trained to accommodate over consider- 
able distance. 

When children are obliged to face a glare 
of light like that reflected from bright light 
on water, or from snow, slightly colored glasses 
should be provided. Amber colored lenses are 
the best. 

The eyes are frequently weak and easily over- 
strained after illness, especially after measles 
or scarlet-fever, and should be carefully guard- 
ed against using too soon, or for too long at 
a time. 

The habit of rubbing the eyes is somewhat 
common in children. It is injurious in that it 
produces irritation, and infection may thus be 
carried to the eyes. Cleansing with a simple 
eye-wash tends to prevent styes and crusts on 
the lids, allay irritation, and possibly avert 
more serious inflammation. A very good eye- 
wash may be made by dissolving half a tea- 
spoonful of boric-acid powder in half a pint of 
water. Bits of absorbant cotton may be dipped 
in this solution, using a fresh piece for each 
eye. 

CARE OF THE EARS 

Healthy ears require little care beyond keep- 
ing the outer portion clean. Articles should 



CARE OF THE CHILD'S BODY 151 

not be introduced into the ear. Nature usually 
takes care of superfluous wax. Some people, 
however, are troubled by excessive accumula- 
tions, which fill up the canal and even press 
against the ear-drum, causing a feeling of full- 
ness, and temporary deafness in the affected 
ear. As the wax is often hardened and ad- 
herent to the sides of the canal, unskillful at- 
tempts to remove it may do harm; the best 
plan is to consult a physician. 

Discharging ears, swelling or pain in the 
ears, or signs of deafness are symptoms which 
demand medical attention. Many children are 
deaf because of neglected colds and ear dis- 
charges. Such troubles are fairly easy to cure 
at the beginning, but if allowed to go without 
treatment, become chronic, more difficult to 
cure, and frequently result in partial or com- 
plete deafness. Many school children who seem 
dull, are really suffering from impairment of 
hearing, which prevents their going forward 
in school work. 

CARE OF THE NOSE AND THROAT 

Most of the diseases of childhood are due to 
infection by germs, and it is now quite gen- 
erally believed that these germs enter the body 
principally by way of the nose, throat and 
mouth. Therefore, the importance of teaching 
children to keep these parts thoroughly clean 
cannot be too strongly emphasized. 



152 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

By spending omy a little time and attention 
during these early years teaching our children 
how to wash and clean the nose, throat and 
teeth, we will establish habits of cleanliness 
which will always remain with them, and which 
may be the means of preventing many colds, 
contagious diseases, and decay of the teeth. 

Children learn easily as part of the morning 
bath, to flush out the lower portion of the 
nostrils, and to blow out any accumulations 
which have collected during the night. The 
best way to cleanse the nostrils is to close one 
nostril with the forefinger, and gently blow out 
the other; then flush out with water. Too 
much force in blowing the nose is injurious; 
it should be done gently. Children should also 
be cautioned not to snuff water up into the 
nostrils; simply splashing the water with the 
hands in and out of the lower portion of the 
nostrils is cleansing, refreshing, and will do no 
harm. The various nasal douches and sprays 
should not be used without the advice of a 
competent physician. 

Sometimes the nostrils become clogged; first 
have the child gently blow out each nostril as 
described above; then, using a medicine drop- 
per, introduce two drops of benzoinol into each 
nostril. This will tend to soften the accumula- 
tions, and help to insure a good night's sleep. 

An excellent health habit for the child to 
acquire is to rinse out the throat and mouth 



CARE OF THE CHILD'S BODY 153 

at bedtime and on rising in the morning", using 
warm water for the purpose. This will help to 
protect against the common diseases of child- 
hood, and it will be much easier to treat the 
throat should treatment become necessary. 

CARE OF THE MOUTH AND TEETH 

Of all the various measures tending to build 
up healthy children and to keep them healthy, 
one of the most important is the care of the 
mouth and teeth. Good health depends to a 
very large degree upon a healthy mouth and 
sound teeth. Broken down teeth in an unclean 
mouth is a constant menace to a child's health. 

It should be considered that the mouth is the 
gateway to the body. The teeth are to cut and 
grind the food which goes to build up the body. 
Well-chewed food is more easily digested and 
more readily used by the body than food swal- 
lowed with but little chewing. This cutting 
and grinding is important; without it the food 
is not thoroughly mixed with the saliva, an 
extra burden is thrown upon the other diges- 
tive organs, and the food is not properly di- 
gested. 

When the first teeth decay they ache just as 
severely as the permanent teeth, and become 
painful to chew upon. Heat, cold, sweets and 
acids cause pain, and food lodging between 
broken-down teeth causes pressure, which is 
exceedingly uncomfortable. The child avoids 
chewing and eats only the softest foods. The 



154 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

body is not fully nourished by such foods, and 
the child must inevitably lack in strength and 
development as the years go on. Thus, it is 
easily appreciated how decayed teeth during 
the foundation years, interfere with the child's 
growth. 

Not only does the condition of decaying teeth 
and an unhealthy mouth effect physical growth, 
but it also influences to a marked degree the 
nerves and mind of the child. If the teeth are 
a source of constant irritation, a child certainly 
cannot pay strict attention to school-work. If 
there is indigestion and lowered vitality from 
diseased teeth, the nature and disposition of the 
child must suffer. 

It must also be remembered that many forms 
of disease germs, including those of pneumonia 
and diphtheria, lodge in cavities and irregular- 
ities of the teeth, and many diseases of children 
commence from germs developed in the mouth. 
When decay of the first teeth reaches an ad- 
vanced stage they frequently ulcerate, an ab- 
scess develops and pus forms. The pus may 
be swallowed or absorbed directly into the 
circulation, with the inevitable result of low- 
ered vitality, and increased susceptibility to 
disease. 

IRREGULAR TEETH 

Why do children have irregular teeth? Can 
parents do anything to prevent the teeth com- 
ing in crooked? It may be said positively that 
if a mother lacks a nutritious, well-balanced 



CARE OF THE CHILD'S BODY 155 

diet during the time before her child is born 
and while nursing the child, the child's teeth 
may be late in appearing, of poor quality, and 
of irregular growth. Also, faulty habits of eat- 
ing in young children will surely influence the 
quality and growth of the teeth. 

Young children may also acquire certain 
habits which influence the growth of the teeth. 
During the first years of life the bones are soft, 
yielding, and easily molded or bent. Conse- 
quently, the common habit of sucking the 
thumb or pacifier frequently results in distor- 
tion of the bones of the jaw, and an unsightly 
displacement of the teeth. 

Mouth breathing is one of the most frequent 
causes of irregular teeth. It often starts with 
a common cold, or because of adenoids, or en- 
larged tonsils. 

Another very common cause of irregular 
teeth is decay resulting in loss of a tooth. It 
is important to keep intact the complete set of 
first teeth because of the support they give each 
other. The loss of one tooth deprives the other 
teeth of support; they get out of their true 
position, and crowd the permanent teeth as they 
appear, thus also causing irregularity of the 
permanent teeth. 

AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION WORTH A POUND 
OF CURE 

By the end of the second year the first teeth, 
numbering twenty, are usually present, and 



156 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

they should be kept in sound, healthy condition. 
The first teeth are frequently neglected because 
they are not considered of sufficient importance 
to warrant much care. This is a serious mis- 
take. The old adage, "An ounce of prevention 
is worth a pound of cure," was never more 
aptly used than when applied to the care of 
the teeth. When parents come to realize how 
essential such care is to the child's present and 
future welfare, much suffering and disease will 
be prevented. 

To influence favorably the quality and growth 
of a child's teeth the mother must have good 
care and nourishing food before the child is 
born, and during the nursing period. The 
mother's milk is essential to the best develop- 
ment of the child, and everything possible 
should be done in order that the mother should 
have a good supply of milk. 

FOOD AND THE TEETH 

In Chapter III, "Food for Body-Building," the 
importance of a well-chosen diet of mixed foods 
for children, has already been amply empha- 
sized. The young child must be furnished with 
all the materials of growth in order to have 
sound teeth. It is not wise to give children 
too much soft food to the exclusion of that 
which requires chewing in order to swallow. 
Children are too apt to swallow food without 
chewing. A diet which includes a large amount 



CARE OF THE CHILD'S BODY 157 

of sweets hastens decay of the teeth; the more 
sugar, the greater the decay. 

The constant exercise of vigorous chewing is 
essential to the proper growth and development 
of the jaws and teeth. Food which requires 
chewing before it can be swallowed, such as 
crusts, toast, and hard crackers, should form 
part of the child's daily diet, and as the child 
grows older, raw apple, pineapple, celery, and 
boiled, roasted and broiled meat, should form 
part of the diet. Patiently and persistently we 
must teach children to chew their food so 
thoroughly that they can swallow it comfort- 
ably without drinking. It may be necessary 
to keep milk or water out of sight until the 
food is eaten. 

It is important to keep the first teeth in 
good condition so that when the second or per- 
manent set begin to come through they will 
not come in contact with broken-down, diseased 
roots and germ-laden cavities. The second 
teeth will be less apt to decay if, when they 
first make their appearance, the mouth is 
healthy and free from conditions which tend 
to produce disease. 

THE SECOND OR PERMANENT TEETH 

The permanent teeth begin to appear at about 
the sixth year, about a year before the first 
teeth begin to fall out. The first of the per- 
manent set to make their appearance are the 



158 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

six-year molars. These are probably the most 
valuable teeth in the mouth, and unfortunately, 
are the ones most often neglected. They come 
in just behind the last molar of the temporary 
set, and are very frequently mistaken for the 
first teeth because they come so early, and 
without pushing out or disturbing any of the 
first set. 

The six-year molars are usually large, fine 
teeth, and with proper care should last a life- 
time. Upon them falls the brunt of most of 
the hard chewing, and they are very largely 
concerned in maintaining regular alignment of 
the other teeth. It will be seen, therefore, that 
the preservation of these teeth is a matter of 
supreme importance to the health of the child. 

KEEPING THE TEETH CLEAN 

Without parental supervision children will 
not care for their teeth. They should be taught 
how to use the tooth-brush by the time they 
are three years of age, but parental influence 
will be necessary throughout the entire period 
of childhood, for very few children will do it 
thoroughly. 

Children should be trained to clean the teeth 
at least after the morning and evening meals 
and at bedtime. It is surprising how little time 
is consumed in this healthful practice. Three 
cleanings need not take over five minutes of 
the day. When the habit of brushing the teeth 



CARE OF THE CHILD'S BODY 159 

is thoroughly established it is no longer irk- 
some. Good habits formed in early childhood 
are seldom discontinued. Especially important 
is the cleansing at bedtime, fermentation in the 
mouth proceeding more rapidly during the 
night. 

The brush should be narrow, not too large, 
and the bristles of medium stiffness. Before a 
new brush is used the parent should see that 
it is thoroughly flushed out with boiling hot 
water. Any of the simple tooth preparations 
may be used; the best for the teeth is the one 
which induces the child to clean them fre- 
quently. There is little difference in the pre- 
servative power of the various powders and 
pastes. 

In cleaning the teeth it is best to brush from 
the gums toward the teeth rather than across, 
or with a rotary motion. After the brushing 
the mouth should always be thoroughly rinsed 
with warm water, the brush rinsed in hot 
water, and laid aside to dry. The task should 
be made as pleasant as possible, and a cheerful 
word of commendation frequently given when 
it is well done. 

In addition to establishing the habit of clean- 
ing the teeth, it is of the utmost importance 
that the growing child should be taken to the 
dentist frequently. Beginning at the age of 
three years, the teeth should be carefully ex- 
amined at least every four months for decay 



160 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

in cavities, which should be filled without delay. 
With some such care as here outlined chil- 
dren will reach adult life with sound teeth, 
and will be saved many hours of suffering, as 
well as humiliation from unsightly teeth. They 
will also rise ud and call their parents blessed. 

THE CHILD'S FEET 

Of late years considerable attention has been 
given to the care of children's feet. This may 
be due to the fact that during the late war 
thousands of young men were rendered unfit 
for active service by the condition known as 
flat-foot; or, it may be because of the increas- 
ingly large number of children appearing at 
out-patient departments of. hospitals for treat- 
ment of weak and deformed feet. 

Much of this suffering and deformity may be 
prevented by proper care of the feet during the 
first eight years of a child's life. The choice 
of a properly fitting* shoe is of the greatest im- 
portance, since most of the trouble comes from 
the bones of the foot being thrown out of 
balance by continued pressure of badly fitting 
shoes. The shoes, therefore, should be selected 
with some care to fit the natural shape of the 
foot. The soles should have straight inside 
lines, and on the outside should follow the 
natural outline of the foot, allowing plenty of 
room for the toes. The shoe should be suffi- 
ciently long to allow plenty of room for the 



CARE OF THE CHILD'S BODY 161 

great toe, pressure on this part often causing 
deformity. The soles and uppers should be 
sufficiently flexible to permit free movement of 
the joints in walking. 

Heels should be low and broad. Fortunately 
for the future welfare of girls, the high heel 
is gradually being discarded, and we see more 
and more of the low-heeled shoe. It is per- 
fectly possible to manufacture a low-heeled shoe 
along attractive lines, and there are some such 
shoes sold in the stores. The high-heeled shoe 
runs over at the heels and loses its shape more 
quickly, thus necessitating the purchase of new 
shoes. It is the mother who controls the mar- 
kets of the world. If mothers will persistently 
talk about and ask for an attractively built low- 
heeled shoe for their little girls and big girls, 
the shoe will be forth-coming. 

One fact is established beyond doubt, namely, 
that the high-heeled shoe throws the bones of 
the foot out of their normal relation with each 
other, destroys the natural equilibrium of the 
body, makes healthy walking impossible, and 
tends to bring about serious trouble later in life. 

Care should be taken not to lace or button 
the shoes so tight that pressure marks show 
on the feet. 

PREVENTION OF FLAT-FOOT 

Flat-foot is rather common during childhood. 
Flat-footed children turn the toes outward, and 



162 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

walk somewhat stiffly. The upper part of the 
shoe turns inward over the heel and instep. 
Such children tire easily, have pain in the feet, 
legs, and back, and do not like to walk far. 

To prevent flat-foot children should be taught 
to walk with toes pointing straight forward. 
In this position one steps squarely upon the foot, 
distributing the weight of the body equally. It 
is toeing out which tends to throw the weight 
on the inner side of the foot, that causes flat- 
foot. While toeing in is not graceful, and dis- 
turbs somewhat the natural balance of the 
body, it does not weaken the structures of the 
foot, or cause flat-foot. 

Properly fitted shoes will do much to pre- 
vent this condition, and it is important to keep 
the shoes in good repair. Shoes which have 
lost their shape, and are run down at the heel, 
do not give proper support, and allow the body 
weight to fall too much on one side. 

Even stockings which do not fit properly may 
do harm. If too tight they compress the toes 
and interfere with the circulation. A stocking 
which is too short will cause the toes to curl 
under, and for this reason it is wise to buy 
stockings half a size too large. 

Wearing the same pair of shoes every day 
continuously tires the feet, and wears out the 
shoes rapidly. Alternating shoes relieves the 
strain, rests the feet, and saves the shoes. 
Bathing the feet frequently and rubbing with 



CARE OF THE CHILD'S BODY 163 

a towd until they are warm and glowing, is 
particularly beneficial. The stockings also 
should be changed frequently. 

Certain exercises are also beneficial, such as 
running and jumping rope, if not carried to 
excess. The muscles of the feet are also 
strengthened by an exercise especially adapted 
for weak feet; with the feet exactly parallel 
and pointing straight forward, the child rises 
slowly on the toes, and as slowly returns to 
the heels. 

' While home care and early training can do 
much in the way of prevention, abnormalities 
of the feet and legs frequently demand special 
mechanical appliances. Conditions like club- 
foot and knock-knee, and sometimes the 
"pigeon-toe" position and flat-foot, require the 
special skill of the orthopedic physician. All 
such abnormal conditions should have skilled 
attention before the bones become hardened, 
since at this time corrective work can be done 
much more easily, and at less expense than in 
later childhood. 



COMMON DISEASES AND DISORDERS OF 
CHILDHOOD 



"He who has health is rich and does not know tV— Italian 
Proverb. 



"Health is the greatest of all possessions, and it is a maxim 
with me that a hale cobbler is a better man than a sick king." — 
Bickerstaff. 



CHAPTER IX 

COMMON DISEASES AND DISORDERS OF 
CHILDHOOD 

THE CONTAGIOUS DISEASES 

The present day witnesses a new point of 
view in regard to the diseases of children. It 
is not so many years ago that parents help- 
lessly accepted the so-called "Children's Dis- 
eases" as a necessary evil, incident to the period 
of childhood. There has even been a tendency 
to consider rather lightly such diseases, no spe- 
cial effort being made to avoid exposure, par- 
ents taking it for granted that children must 
have them sometime. 

We are coming to believe at the present time 
that these diseases should be prevented by care- 
ful hygiene in the home and school. The fact 
cannot be too strongly emphasized that such 
diseases not only weaken and retard the growth 
of children for the time being, but very often 
leave them crippled by a damaged heart, weak 
lungs, or impaired kidneys. 

Too many people regard measles as a disease 
of trifling importance, yet, it must be consid- 
ered as one of the most serious diseases of 
childhood. Not only does it leave many chil- 

167 



168 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

dren in such a weakened condition that they 
have pneumonia, but the bronchial tubes and 
lungs are so weakened by the persistent bron- 
chitis following measles, that many children 
develop tuberculosis of the lungs, and some- 
times of the hip or spine, with their attendant 
deformities. Disease of the middle ear is a 
common complication of measles, and is fre- 
quently followed by a chronic discharge from 
the ear and partial deafness. 

Whooping-cough is by no means insignificant 
in its effect upon the health of children. The 
racking attacks of coughing extending over 
some weeks, so lowers the natural resistance 
of the body, that tuberculosis is apt to show 
itself later on. 

Even chicken-pox, the least serious of the 
most common contagious diseases, has been 
known to seriously impair the health of cer- 
tain children, sometimes leaving broken down 
glands and ugly scars. 

The ravages of diphtheria before the use of 
antitoxin will long be remembered; many thou- 
sands of little children died each year, and 
thousands of others were left with weakened 
bodies and crippled hearts. It is still regarded 
as one of the most destructive of the con- 
tagious diseases. 

Scarlet fever is also to be considered one of 
the most serious diseases of childhood. It has 
been known to leave serious after-effects, such 



DISEASES AND DISORDERS 169 

as diseased kidneys, defective vision, and im- 
paired hearing. 

Thus it is evident that if children are not to 
be handicapped in life, every effort must be 
made to keep them away from places where 
contagious disease is known to exist. Parents 
cannot be too careful in this respect. Not only 
must we think of the welfare of our own chil- 
dren, but of other children as well, and if we 
have a child who has measles, whooping-cough, 
or any infectious disease, it becomes our duty 
to keep other children away until the quar- 
antine is lifted by the family physician. To 
prevent the spread of these diseases it is neces- 
sary to keep a sick child by itself until it is 
known not to have contagious disease. 

MEASLES 

Measles commences much like a cold in the 
head, with sneezing, discharge from the nose, 
eyes sensitive and watery, some fever, and 
later, a dry cough. The rash appears first on 
the face and neck as small red spots which come 
together into blotches. The face looks swollen, 
and the rash soon spreads over the entire body. 
Sometimes children are only slightly ill, the 
rash appearing very light. They should be kept 
by themselves until all doubts as to the identity 
of the disease is removed. 

The disease is exceedingly contagious from 
the time the sneezing and cold symptoms appear, 



170 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

before the appearance of the rash, and is car- 
ried from one child having the disease to an- 
other. Second attacks are not common. Chil- 
dren ill with measles should be kept away from 
other children for two weeks following disap- 
pearance of the rash. Even if another child is 
said to have had measles it should not be 
allowed to visit the sick child, since the disease 
known as German measles is easily confused 
with measles, and neither disease protects 
against the other. 

GERMAN MEASLES 

This also is very contagious, occurring most 
often during the winter season, the first sym- 
toms appearing from the ninth to the eighteenth 
day after exposure. The symptoms are fre- 
quently very light, the disease seldom being as 
severe as measles. The rash looks like the 
measles rash, but disappears more quickly. 
After an attack children should be carefully 
guarded against taking cold, and should not 
mingle with other children for a week follow- 
ing the disappearance of the rash. 

WHOOPING-COUGH 

Whooping-cough is one of the common and 
most contagious diseases of childhood, occurring 
most frequently during the first five years of 
life, and is even rather common during the 
second six months of life. Some children have 



DISEASES AND DISORDERS 171 

it mildly while others have severe attacks, de- 
pending partly upon their condition at the time. 

The first symptoms appear usually from seven 
to fourteen days after exposure, coming on like 
a cold in the head, with an irritable cough, which 
is usually worse as night approaches. When 
the attacks of coughing become worse and more 
frequent rather than better, and there is a ten- 
dency to vomit and gag, the parents should 
think of whooping-cough. When the sharp 
cough is repeated several times during an at- 
tack, ending with the drawing in of the breath, 
causing the peculiar crowing sound so charac- 
teristic of the disease, and accompanied by much 
stringy mucus, and possibly vomiting, there can 
be no doubt of the presence of whooping-cough. 

The disease is serious because of the inces- 
sant exhausting cough, so severe that vomiting 
frequently occurs, thus interfering with the 
child's nutrition, and also because of the long 
duration, the disease lasting from six to eight 
weeks. A child having whooping-cough should 
be kept away from other children for at least 
six weeks, and better, until the attacks of 
coughing disappear. 

CHICKEN-POX 

This common disease of childhood is very 

contagious, and one attack usually protects 

against a second. Red pimples first appear on 

the neck, then the chest, abdomen and face. 



172 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

The pimples soon change into small blisters, 
which dry up, and frequently pimples, vesicles 
and dried-up vesicles may be seen at the same 
time. There is some itching, sometimes fever. 
The child should not mingle with other chil- 
dren until all scabs disappear. 

MUMPS 

This occurs as a swelling just below, and 
extending rapidly upward, on the cheek in front 
of the ear. It is sore to touch, and eating and 
even talking is sometimes painful. Swelling 
may also occur on the other side of the face, 
the entire attack extending over a week or ten 
days. One attack usually protects against an- 
other, and to prevent other children contracting 
the disease, they should be kept away from the 
sick child for a week after the disappearance 
of the swelling. 

SCARLET-FEVER 

"Scarletina," "scarlet rash," and "scarlet- 
fever" are one and the same disease. It comes 
on suddenly, usually in from three to seven 
days after exposure, with vomiting, fever and 
sore throat, the rash appearing within twenty- 
four hours as an intense, bright red blush upon 
neck and chest, and spreading rapidly over the 
body. 

Although markedly contagious, it is not so 
much so as measles or whooping-cough. Some 



DISEASES AND DISORDERS 173 

children have the disease very lightly, having 
but little fever, with only slight congestion of 
the throat, and almost no rash. The very mild- 
ness of the attack may prove a serious danger 
to the child having it, and to the community, 
in that medical advice may not be sought, the 
disease remain unrecognized, and other children 
exposed. It should be remembered that the 
mildest symptoms may be followed by the most 
serious after-effects, and that from the child 
having a mild attack, another child may con- 
tract the disease, have the severest form, and 
be crippled for life by serious after-effects. 
Thus, it is highly essential that the mildest 
cases be kept away from other children, and 
that they have the same careful supervision as 
the severest cases. 

Of late years the belief has been gaining 
ground that scarlet-fever is carried by dis- 
charges from nose, throat and ear, and also by 
the scales when contaminated by such dis- 
charges. A child who has had scarlet-fever 
should not be allowed to mingle with other 
children for at least a month after all symp- 
toms have disappeared, including not only peel- 
ing, but any discharge from the ear. 

DIPHTHERIA 

This is still a very common disease, is highly 
contagious and infectious, and shows itself as 



174 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

early as the second day, or as late as six to 
twelve days after exposure. While young in- 
fants do have the disease, it is more frequently 
seen in children from two to six years of age. 
Older children, however, also have the disease, 
and all children and young people should be 
protected from contagion. Unlike the other 
contagious diseases, one attack does not pro- 
tect from a second. 

The first symptom which may attract the 
mother's attention is pain when swallowing, 
and soreness and swelling of the glands under 
the jaw. Usually there is feverishness, loss of 
appetite, and the throat is inflamed, showing 
greyish white patches on tonsils and uvula. 
There are some cases in which the throat shows 
little or no inflammation, but a bloody dis- 
charge from the nose may be noticed with 
difficult breathing, while others may first show 
trouble in the larynx, having hoarseness, short- 
ly followed by difficult or noisy breathing and 
a croupy cough. 

A child who has had diphtheria should not 
mingle with other children for two weeks after 
the throat is clean in mild attacks, and this 
should be extended to four weeks if the attack 
has been severe. Because of the tendency of 
this disease to weaken the heart, special care 
should be taken to follow the physician's ad- 
vice in regard to keeping the child in bed for 
sometime after the throat symptoms disappear. 



DISEASES AND DISORDERS 175 

PREVENTION OF CONTAGIOUS DISEASES 

From the foregoing facts it must be evident 
that the welfare of the sick child, and of other 
children as well, makes it imperative that the 
correct identity of the disease be determined 
at once, in order that the right treatment may 
be commenced immediately, and proper meas- 
ures taken to prevent the spread of the disease. 
At the very first signs of illness, therefore, it 
is good judgment to put the child to bed in a 
simply furnished room by itself, call a physi- 
cian, and keep other children away. 

The germs of these diseases are present in 
the mouth, throat and nose of the sick child, 
and are spread about by coughing, talking and 
sneezing. Thus, it is apparent that children 
may easily pass the germs from one to another. 
Children should be taught to cover the mouth 
when coughing or sneezing, and to keep away 
from other children who are frequently cough- 
ing and sneezing. 

Children are very apt to suck their fingers, 
pick the nose, and bite the nails. In playing 
games they take hold of each other's hands, 
and thus contagious diseases are transmitted 
from one child to another. They should be 
taught to keep the hands clean, the nails cut 
fairly short, and to keep the hands away from 
mouth and nose. 

Children must also learn not to exchange 
candy or fruit with other children, not to put 



176 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

into the mouth pencils, whistles or horns which 
have been used by other children, and never to 
use another's handkerchief. 

Parents are realizing as never before the 
importance of teaching children to clean their 
teeth, but it is surprising what a large num- 
ber of school children neglect this simple but 
essential health measure. Children should be 
given a good tooth-brush and paste and taught 
as early as possible to clean the teeth, and to 
flush out the mouth and throat twice daily. 

A condition of health and vigor is the best 
protection against disease, while on the other 
hand there are certain disorders which tend to 
produce weakness, and increase susceptibility 
to disease, such as chronic indigestion, catarrh 
of the nasal passages, and loss of sleep, all of 
which may be prevented by not allowing chil- 
dren to eat between meals, by giving them sim- 
ple, nourishing food at regular times, and in- 
sisting upon long nights of sleep. Chronic 
catarrhal conditions of the nose should receive 
careful treatment. 

Outdoor air and sunshine are powerful fac- 
tors in the prevention of disease. Children who 
have plenty of fresh air out of doors and in 
the house, sleep better, and resist disease much 
better than children who are too closely housed. 

The temperature of living rooms should not 
be over 70° R, and a constant supply of fresh 
air should be maintained. Sleeping rooms need 



DISEASES AND DISORDERS 177 

a thorough airing each day, and should be open 
freely to the night air, which is usually purer 
than that of the day. The importance of sun- 
light as a destroyer of disease germs is quite 
generally recognized, and it is desirable that 
all rooms at some time during the day be open 
to its health-giving influence. 

So many thousands of child lives are de- 
stroyed annually by the contagious diseases, 
that city, state and national health departments 
are expending much time and money in a united 
effort to prevent the spread of these diseases. 
Much has been accomplished by the improve- 
ment of school conditions, and a step in the 
right direction is the appointment of school 
physicians and nurses. Schools are better ven- 
tilated, have improved sanitary arrangements, 
more sunshine and fresh air. There is more 
painstaking effort to detect contagious disease 
early, and to prevent infection spreading from 
child to child. 

Very little progress in this direction, how- 
ever, can be accomplished, and the work of 
prevention will be seriously handicapped unless 
physicians, nurses and teachers are supported 
by the earnest co-operation of parents. If the 
contagious diseases are to be stamped out, there 
must be a community conscience. Each mother 
and father in the community must not only 
take every precaution against the spread of 
disease among the members of their own fam- 



178 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

ily, but do everything possible to prevent the 
spread of infection to other families. Not un- 
til this responsibility is accepted by all parents 
shall we witness the conquest of the diseases 
which are destroying so many thousands of 
lives of little children each year. 

THE SCHICK TEST AND SAFEGUARDING THE 
CHILD AGAINST DIPHTHERIA 

There has of late years been perfected what is 
known as the Schick Test, by which it is possible 
to detect to what extent any child is susceptible to 
diphtheria. To children thus proved to be sus- 
ceptible is administered toxin-antitoxin, which 
renders them immune to the disease. 

The method is simple, absolutely harmless, and 
is being used in the public schools. Parents have 
but to lend their earnest cooperation to health and 
school officers, and many children will be safe- 
guarded against this most crippling and destruc- 
tive foe of little children. 

VACCINATION 

As a preventive measure against the dread 
disease smallpox, vaccination has long since 
passed the experimental stage. The ravages 
of the disease before the days of vaccination, 
and its rarity now that the practice is so uni- 
versal, is indicative of its protective power. 

Vaccination is best done when the child is 



DISEASES AND DISORDERS 179 

about six months of age, although if smallpox 
is epidemic, or if there is any possibility of 
exposure to the disease, it may be done as 
early as three or four months. On the other 
hand, it may be postponed in a very delicate 
child who is not apt to be exposed to smallpox, 
or in a child having skin disease. 

The best place for vaccination is the part 
which is easiest to protect and keep at rest. 
In young infants who are not creeping or walk- 
ing, the leg offers the best location, while in 
older children usually the arm is to be pre- 
ferred. If older children are vaccinated on the 
leg, they should be kept off their feet while 
vaccination is active. 

WHEN VACCINATION IS SUCCESSFUL 

If successful, in two or three days after vac- 
cination, a red pimple appears, which increases 
in size until in a few days it becomes a vesicle 
containing watery fluid, later becoming yellow- 
ish, and surrounded by a red ring. During the 
active stage there is some swelling and redness, 
and there may be some soreness, restlessness 
and feverishness. 

The swelling and redness gradually decrease 
until about the twelfth day, when the vesicle 
begins to dry up and at the end of fourteen 
days a scab forms, which comes off in about 
three weeks, leaving a small scar. If unsuc- 
cessful the vaccination should be repeated in 



180 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

two or three weeks. If it is successful, a child 
should be revaccinated sometime before puber- 
ty, but if at any time there is some possibility 
of exposure to smallpox, vaccination should be 
repeated. 

THE CARE OF THE SICK CHILD 
If a child has been trained from infancy to 
habits of regularity in feeding and sleeping, the 
task of caring for it when ill is much easier. 
Children should be taught to show the throat, 
to wash out the throat, to take liquid medicine 
from a teaspoon, and to take tablets or cap- 
sules. They should also be taught to regard 
the family physician as a good friend, and to 
anticipate his visit, as one of the pleasant 
events of the day. Under no consideration 
should children be frightened into obedience 
by threats of what the doctor will do on his 
arrival. Such threats absolutely prevent the 
pleasant relationship which should exist be- 
tween the little folks and the physician, and 
make his task of helping the children very 
difficult. 

With some tact and patience most children 
may be taught to wash out the throat and take 
pills at four or five years, and to show the 
throat at two or three years. The secret of 
success lies in not frightening them in the be- 
ginning, and all these matters should form part 
of a child's early education. 



DISEASES AND DISORDERS 181 

Serious illness may frequently be prevented 
by giving careful attention to the first signs of 
illness. At the first appearance of acute indi- 
gestion, accompanied by diarrhoea or vomiting, 
fever and pain, or an oncoming cold with run- 
ning nose, sneezing and feverishness, the child 
should be put to bed in a quiet, shaded room, 
and a physician called. 

Such symptoms may mean only a slight up- 
set, or on the other hand, may mark the be- 
ginning of one of the contagious diseases. This 
latter possibility should always be kept in mind, 
and all children and other visitors excluded, 
pending the arrival of the physician. Until he 
arrives no food should be given other than a 
small quantity of some simple gruel. Cool, 
boiled water may be given frequently, and a 
simple bath may be given before the child is 
put in bed, 

COMMON DISORDERS OF CHILDHOOD 
CONSTIPATION AND ITS PREVENTION 

This very common disorder should be pre- 
vented by careful attention to regularity and 
proper diet. No health habit is more important 
than a regular, daily action of the bowels. The 
first essential is that the bowels should act at 
the same time every day. Such training should 
commence in infancy, and be continued through- 
out childhood. 



182 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

The principal causes of constipation are ir- 
regular meals, improper food, eating between 
meals, lack of variety in the diet, and neglect- 
ing the time for regular action of the bowels. 

Medicine alone will not cure constipation. It 
can be accomplished only by careful training. 
The best time is in the morning after break- 
fast, and parents will need to see that children 
take time to attend to this important health 
habit. School children should arise sufficiently 
early to have ample time to attend to this after 
breakfast before leaving the house. Unless 
some attention is given to the matter, in the 
hurry incident to getting to school, this impor- 
tant duty is neglected, and irregularity results 
in chronic constipation. 

Next to establishing regularity is the matter 
of providing a well-balanced diet, insisting upon 
regular meals, and not allowing children to eat 
between meals. Some variety in foods should 
be planned for breakfasts, as described in Chap- 
ter III. The coarse cereals, such as oatmeal 
or pettyjohn are preferable to cream of wheat 
or rice, and graham or whole wheat bread in- 
stead of white bread. 

Green vegetables, such as spinach, green peas, 
string beans, carrots, asparagus and celery, are 
especially valuable, and only a limited amount 
of potato and rice. Meat once daily is suffi- 
cient. Milk should be given only at the two 
light meals. Fruits are valuable, and should 



DISEASES AND DISORDERS 183 

be used freely. Fruit juices given in water on 
rising are useful. Stewed prunes, dates and 
figs, apple sauce and baked apples, stewed 
peaches, and raw scraped apples are all excel- 
lent for constipation, and should be given once 
or twice daily at meals. Two or three tea- 
spoonfuls of honey used as a sauce with bread, 
and given daily, may prove beneficial. 

Children often need to be taught to drink 
water. A glass on rising in the morning and 
two glasses twice daily between meals is a 
minimum amount for the day. 

When it becomes necessary to move the 
bowels at once, an injection of half to one pint 
of soapy water, using a bulb syringe or foun- 
tain syringe, is a simple but effective method. 
A tablespoonful of sweet oil used as an injec- 
tion is also useful. A small suppository of Cas- 
tile soap is easily made, and will serve the 
same purpose. It is not best to use any of 
these methods constantly. Constipation which 
persists in spite of careful training and well- 
regulated diet, demands the attention of a 
physician. 

"WORMS" 

A common disorder in children is a condition 
of the bowels which favors the development of 
worms. The small thread or "seat-worms", re- 
sembling bits of grey thread less than half an 
inch long, are the most common variety, and 



184 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

locate in the lower bowel, often in large num- 
bers. 

They cause few symptoms in some children, 
but in many children they cause itching at the 
anus, picking of the nose, bad breath, coated 
tongue, loss of appetite, grinding of the teeth, 
restless sleep and bad dreams. 

Faulty food habits, such as eating irregularly 
and between meals, too much sweet food and 
candy, and too rapid eating, all tend to bring 
about the unhealthy condition of the bowels 
favoring the growth of these pests. Correc- 
tion of such habits will do much to eradicate 
this condition. In addition, children should be 
taught to eat slowly, to chew food thoroughly, 
and not to bolt their food. 

One of the most important preventive meas- 
ures is to see that children's hands are kept 
clean. The finger-nails should be watched with 
special care, and kept short and clean, as chil- 
dren are very apt to put their fingers in the 
mouth, and thus reinfect themselves. 

Warm salt solution injected into the bowel 
every other night for a few weeks, may help 
to clear the bowels of the worms, but to get 
rid of them entirely, the help of a physician is 
necessary. 

BED-WETTING 

Most children will go through the night with- 
out wetting the bed at two or three years of 
age, if taken up late in the evening. Certain 



DISEASES AND DISORDERS 185 

children learn before this age, while some do 
not acquire control until four, five or even six 
years of age. Older children wet the bed occa- 
sionally, but wetting the bed every night after 
three years of age is not normal. 

This troublesome condition is often the re- 
sult of faulty habits, such as eating an excess 
of sweets, too rich and highly seasoned foods, 
and eating between meals. Sometimes it is 
due to general debility, or to some trouble of 
the genital organs. 

Punishment is seldom helpful, and may make 
the condition worse, especially corporal punish- 
ment. Everything possible should be done to 
build up the child's general health. Correction 
of faulty habits of eating often produces sur- 
prisingly good results. Simple, nutritious food 
at regular times only, and allowing nothing be- 
tween meals except water, will prove beneficial. 
Children should be encouraged to drink plenty 
of water between meals up to 4.00 P. M., but 
none later, the supper being made up mostly 
of solid or semi-solid food. They should be 
taken up regularly at about 10.00 P. M. 

Scolding, ridicule or whipping are worse than 
useless. Children are sensitive, and often ex- 
tremely self-conscious in regard to the condi- 
tion. It is so often due to a run-down state 
of health due to faulty living, that parents 
need to be careful how they treat children hav- 
ing this trouble. 



186 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

Nothing will help very much until the child's 
general condition is improved. Sometimes by 
using much tact and gentleness it is possible 
to appeal to a child's pride, but it should not 
be done in the presence of other children. Tact 
and gentleness will sometimes win, but harsher 
methods are apt to make a child sullen and 
stubborn. 

Various methods have been successful with 
different children. When the bed is dry in the 
morning, a child may be allowed to play with 
a special doll, a set of dishes, or box of tools 
kept for the purpose. Being deprived of the 
special pleasure on account of a wet bed, will 
sometimes impress the child's mind, and stimu- 
late the will-power to new effort. 

It is important to bear in mind, however, the 
possibility of some irritation or weakness of 
the genital organs, and if the condition does 
not improve, the child should be taken to a 
physician for examination and treatment. 

CONVULSIONS 

It is always best to send for a physician at 
once, but until he arrives some home care 
should be given. Wrap the child's body in large 
bath-towels or small blanket dipped in luke- 
warm mustard water, using two heaping table- 
spoonfuls of mustard powder to about three 
pints of water. At the same time place the 
feet in warm mustard water, and cold cloths 



DISEASES AND DISORDERS 18^ 

or cloths in which ice is wrapped, on the head, 
keeping the child as quiet as possible. It is 
well to have plenty of hot water and a tub 
at hand, in case a warm bath becomes neces- 
sary. 

A hot bath may be necessary if the convul- 
sions have continued until the face is very pale, 
the lips and nails blue, feet and hands cold, 
and pulse weak. When the child is in this 
condition the hot bath will help by bringing the 
blood to the surface, and giving relief to the 
lungs, heart and brain. The temperature of 
the bath should not be over 104° R, and small 
quantities of hot water should be added to keep 
the water warm. The water should be tested 
by a bath thermometer, but if this is not con- 
venient, the water may be tested by thrusting 
the bared arm up to the elbow into the water. 
Without such care, in times of emergency, chil- 
dren have been put into water so hot as to pro- 
duce serious burns. The water should be just 
comfortably warm, and the bath may be made 
more useful by adding three tablespoonfuls of 
mustard powder. 

The cold cloths should be kept on the head 
while the child is in the bath, which should not 
be prolonged beyond eight to ten minutes, when 
the child should be wrapped in a warm towel 
or blanket without drying. 

The most common cause of convulsions is 
indigestion due usually to improper food, and 



188 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

for this reason it is often desirable to clean 
out the bowel by an injection of warm soap- 
suds. 

EARACHE 

The pain due to earache is nearly always 
severe and continuous, and the child frequently 
cries loudly and persistently, occasionally more 
sharply with an extra acute twinge of pain, 
cringes if the ear is touched, and sometimes 
keeps the hand placed over the ear. 

It is not advisable to put oil or medicines in 
the ear. Irrigation of the ear with boric acid 
solution comfortably warm will often give re- 
lief, using a bit less than half a teaspoonful 
of boric acid powder to two tablespoonfuls of 
water. The warm solution may be poured 
slowly into the ear with a spoon. When there 
is a discharge from the ear such irrigation 
should not be used without medical advice. 

After the warm solution, dry heat may be 
applied if necessary. This may be accomplished 
by binding over the ear with a bandage or 
handkerchief, a small cloth bag filled with hot 
salt or bran. A small butter-dish heated in 
hot water and covered with cloth may serve 
the same purpose. A small hot-water bag may 
be held to the ear, or the child may rest the 
aching ear on the bag, being careful in all 
these procedures not to burn the ear. If the 
pain persists, or a discharge appears, it is best 



DISEASES AND DISORDERS 189 

to consult a physician, as serious inflammation 
and deafness have been known to occur. 

CROUP 

An attack of ordinary, spasmodic croup, the 
form most frequently seen, seems alarming, but 
is seldom dangerous. An attack is usually 
ushered in with hoarseness during the after- 
noon, followed later in the day by the char- 
acteristic sharp, barking, croupy cough. In a 
mild attack, in addition to the peculiar cough, 
there is hoarseness and somewhat labored 
breathing. In the more severe attacks the 
hoarseness is more pronounced, and the breath- 
ing becomes difficult and noisy. 

The attacks are not usually long, but the 
croupy cough and oppressed breathing may 
continue for an hour or two, when the child 
goes to sleep, usually resting well until morn- 
ing. 

The dangerous form of croup, called mem- 
braneous croup, is diphtheria of the larynx, 
and differs from the common spasmodic croup, 
in that it comes on gradually, and the symp- 
toms continue throughout the day. 

TO RELIEVE SPASMODIC CROUP 

The room should be warm, and cloths soaked 
in hot water applied over the throat. The warm 
air should be kept moist by steam from boil- 
ing water in a croup kettle if convenient, or 



190 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

an ordinary tea-kettle. This will be still more 
effective if the child is placed under a tent, 
arranged by throwing a sheet over an open 
umbrella, leaving an opening at the side for 
the entrance of the steam. 

If the symptoms become alarming, ten drops 
of the syrup of ipecac may be given every fif- 
teen minutes until vomiting occurs, but if at 
any time breathing becomes loud and difficult, 
a physician should be summoned at once. 

COLDS 

Children are made susceptible to colds by 
keeping them too closely housed in overheated, 
poorly ventilated rooms, by improper feeding, 
and too much or too little clothing. Certain 
children inherit a tendency to nasal and bron- 
chial disorders. Enlarged adenoids and tonsils 
also increase the liability to colds. 

It is always to be remembered that colds are 
caused by germs and are contagious; therefore, 
children should be kept away from persons 
having colds, or who are sneezing and coughing. 
A cold often runs through an entire family for 
lack of precautions to protect those not having 
a cold. A cold should not be regarded as a 
very slight indisposition to which little atten- 
tion need be given. It is very often the start- 
ing point of serious illness. 



DISEASES AND DISORDERS 191 

PREVENTION OF COLDS 

Everything possible should be done to pre- 
vent children taking cold. Children having a 
chronic nasal discharge, and who habitually 
keep the mouth open, should be examined for 
enlarged adenoids and tonsils, and if present 
they should be removed. 

The diet is very often at fault. Too much 
starchy food, cereals, potatoes, sugar and 
sweets, are apt to cause indigestion and lack 
of resistance. 

Children who are very susceptible to colds 
are benefited by taking cod-liver oil through- 
out the entire winter. The pure cod-liver oil 
is preferable, commencing with half to one 
teaspoonful with meals, and increasing up to 
two to four teaspoonfuls, as children become 
accustomed to it. 

Many children are clothed too heavily. Med- 
ium weight underwear of wool and cotton mix- 
ture should be worn, and only light weight 
outer clothing worn in the house. When out 
of doors a child should not be so bundled up 
as to perspire freely when playing. 

Living and sleeping rooms should be well 
ventilated, and the more sunny they are the 
better. A living-room temperature of 68° F. 
is better than one of 70° R, and the air should 
be changed completely every day. This sub- 
ject has been so thoroughly considered in Chap- 
ter II (Sunshine and Fresh Air in the Home) 



192 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

that it is mentioned here simply for re- 
emphasis. 

A morning rubbing of the face and chest 
with cold water, followed with a brisk rub 
with a coarse towel until the skin glows, is an 
excellent preventive of colds. The bath should 
not be extended over a minute, and should be 
followed by a good reaction. A warm soap and 
water bath given at bedtime twice a week, tends 
to keep the skin active, and prevents colds. 

Right at the onset of an acute cold with 
sneezing and running nose, the wisest course 
is to put the child to bed in a sunny room by 
itself, and keep other children away. Even if 
the symptoms are very slight, children can be 
made happy in bed with picture-books, dolls, 
and other toys. Such care will stop the prog- 
ress of the cold much more quickly, and pre- 
vent other members of the family from con- 
tracting the cold. Unless the symptoms yield 
quickly to such care, it is best to seek medical 
aid, for neglected colds are apt to become 
serious bronchial conditions. 

ADENOID GROWTHS 

Back of the nose in the upper part of the 
throat, is situated a glandular mass known as 
"Adenoids". It is a normal growth, and only 
when it becomes enlarged or diseased does it 
require removal. 



DISEASES AND DISORDERS 193 

Overgrowth of adenoids causes mouth-breath- 
ing, and during sleep children snore and toss 
restlessly about the bed. Children having dis- 
eased adenoids are constantly having colds, 
chronic nasal discharge, and swelling of the 
glands of the neck; their speech is apt to be 
thick and nasal in tone. They are also subject 
to earache, and sometimes serious inflammation 
and abscess of the ears, often resulting in 
chronic discharge and deafness. In the course 
of time the condition may result in deformity 
of the upper jaw and mouth. Headaches, sleep- 
lessness, and various nervous symptoms accom- 
pany adenoids, and diseases such as measles, 
whooping-cough, pneumonia, scarlet fever, and 
diphtheria, are worse in children who have en- 
larged adenoids. 

The necessity for careful examination by a 
physician and the removal of the overgrowth, 
is apparent. The operation is simple in skillful 
hands, and not to be considered as dangerous. 
Just when to have it done depends upon the 
urgency of the symptoms. Usually it is better 
to postpone the operation until the child is 
over two years of age, as there is less possi- 
bility of recurrence than when it is done in 
early infancy. 

Children recover quickly after the operation 
and show improvement at once. The breathing 
becomes easy, and sleep is more restful and 
quiet. Children who have been thin, pale and 



194 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

listless improve in color, become brighter, and 
the weight increases. 

ENLARGED TONSILS 

Overgrowth of adenoids is very often accom- 
panied by enlarged tonsils, and are frequently 
removed at the same operation. Swollen and 
repeatedly inflamed tonsils are very apt to lead 
to serious illness, such as inflammation of the 
joints, and disease of the heart. Chronically 
enlarged tonsils should be brought to the at- 
tention of the physician, who will decide the 
question of removal. 

THUMB AND FINGER SUCKING 

The habit of sucking usually commences in 
infancy, and unless interfered with may con- 
tinue until children are six to eight years of 
age. Children suck the thumb, the fingers, the 
corner of a blanket, and are frequently given 
rubber nipples and rings to suck. 

Some parents may question whether the habit 
is really harmful, but when it is considered 
that children handle toys, books, different 
pieces of furniture, play on the floor, and that 
people frequently take a child's hand in greet- 
ing, it is evident that the carrying of disease 
germs to the mouth and throat by sucking the 
fingers, is not only possible, but must be con- 
sidered wholly probable. 

The delicate mucous membrane of the mouth 



DISEASES AND DISORDERS 195 

is undoubtedly often injured by the habit, re- 
sulting in inflammation and infection of the 
mouth. It is a habit which can never be of 
use to any child. Viewed from any standpoint 
it is distinctly unwholesome and unhealthy, and 
every effort should be made to prevent the 
formation of the habit, or to break it if al- 
ready commenced. 

By every means possible, from earliest in- 
fancy, children should be trained to keep the 
hands away from the mouth. They should not 
be allowed to suck any article in order to keep 
them quiet. The question of the child's food 
should be carefully considered, remembering 
that a hungry child will suck the whole hand 
if it can get it into the mouth, and cries for 
some minutes before feeding time. 

Applying to the hands medicine having a dis- 
agreeable taste is seldom effective. The wear- 
ing of small bags or mittens without thumbs 
will break the habit in some children, but other 
means are necessary in most cases. 

Some mothers have prevented sucking by 
putting on the child a belt having small bone 
rings attached on each side, and wristlets hav- 
ing similar rings ; the rings on the wristlets are 
then attached by tape to the rings on each side 
of the belt. This permits freedom of arm move- 
ments, but prevents the child reaching the 
mouth with the hand. The belt and wristlets 
may be made from strips of unbleached cotton 



196 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

cloth about one and a half inches wide. This 
contrivance has also been used to prevent 
scratching of the face when children have 
eczema. 

Much may be accomplished by persistently 
removing the child's hand from the mouth, and 
diverting the attention elsewhere. As children 
reach the age of two years suggestion may be 
effective, but during sleep fastening the arms 
to the sides as described above may be neces- 
sary. 

NAIL-BITING 

This habit is most frequently seen in chil- 
dren over three years of age, and unless 
stopped in the beginning is apt to extend into 
adult life. It is seen especially in children 
whose general health is not good, and is often 
a sign of an irritable condition of the nerves. 

Every effort should be made to break up this 
habit at the beginning. It not only injures the 
nails, and mars the shape of the ends of the 
fingers, but is one way of carrying disease 
germs to the mouth and throat. Every means 
should be used to build up the general health 
by wholesome food, an abundance of sleep, and 
outdoor life. 

MASTURBATION (SELF-ABUSE) 

The most injurious of all bad habits, this 
habit should be broken up as soon as discov- 



DISEASES AND DISORDERS 197 

ered. It is practiced by rubbing the genital 
organs with the hands, the clothing, against the 
bed, or by rubbing the thighs together. Other 
children sit upon the floor, and with thighs 
tightly crossed, rock forward and backward. 
The habit is more common in older children, 
but has been observed as early as one year, 
and in both sexes. 

Fortunately there are many children who 
escape this pernicious habit altogether. Much 
depends upon early training and good care. 
An excessively long tight foreskin which does 
not allow of pushing back for thorough cleans- 
ing, should receive medical attention; other- 
wise, the collection of secretions underneath 
will produce irritation. 

Infants should be watched, and if necessary 
the hands mechanically restrained. Punish- 
ment is of little use with older children, and 
makes matters worse. This close observation 
should be unobtrusive, and is especially neces- 
sary when children are first going to sleep, and 
on waking in the morning. 

As soon as children can talk and can under- 
stand, they should be instructed at the daily 
bath not to touch the parts except to keep them 
clean. 

The most important means of prevention are, 
to watch children closely, to keep their trust 
and confidence, and from earliest childhood to 
teach self-control by every possible means. 



COMMON EMERGENCIES OF CHILDHOOD 



"Good health and good sense are two of life's greatest blessings. 
■Publius Syrus. 



CHAPTER X 

COMMON EMERGENCIES OF CHILDHOOD 

Children are naturally carefree and unthink- 
ing of any possibility of mishap in their play. 
Forgetful of words of caution they enter whole- 
heartedly into all sorts of play activities, and 
so it is not strange that they meet with some 
upsets, tumbles, and other accidents of various 
kinds and degree. For the reason that some 
of these mishaps may demand first aid care, 
it is desirable that parents should know some- 
thing of the best methods of meeting the most 
common emergencies of home and playground. 

BURNS 

One of the most common accidents which 
befall children is burning while playing with 
matches or fireworks, or from scalding with 
hot water. By far the most common burn is 
that received while playing with matches. To 
chronicle all the serious and often fatal acci- 
dents occurring to children in this way would 
fill many newspaper columns. Such accidents 
are reported in the papers almost daily. 
Matches should be kept high out of reach of 

201 



202 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

all children, and it is best not to leave young 
children alone in a room where there is fire. 

Fortunately parents are coming to realize the 
possibilities of danger in the use of fireworks, 
and while there are still many serious and fatal 
injuries occurring every year, the number has 
decreased during the last few years. If chil- 
dren are permitted to play with fireworks, it 
should be only under the direct supervision of 
parents. 

THE CARE OF BURNS 

If the child's clothes are on fire, beginning 
at the neck, wrap the child quickly in whatever 
heavy, woolen material is handy, such as a rug, 
carpet, a woolen blanket or overcoat, at the 
same time placing the child low on the floor, 
in order that the flames will not rise to the 
face and head. If ready at hand, dash a bucket 
of water over the flames. Do not run about 
with the child, or allow the child to run about; 
under such circumstances the flames spread 
more rapidly. 

To prevent pain air must be kept from the 
burns, and the clothes should not be allowed 
to rub against the burned skin. An excellent 
solution for burns is made by dissolving a 
heaping teaspoonful of baking soda in a glass 
of water. In this solution soft linen or cheese 
cloth is soaked and applied to the burn. When 
the pain subsides boric-acid ointment may be 
applied. 



EMERGENCIES OF CHILDHOOD 203 

When the burns are more extensive and 
severe, the child should be put to bed and kept 
quiet until the physician arrives. Instead of 
pulling off the clothing it should be cut away 
piece by piece. Only small places should be 
exposed, and linen cloths soaked in the solution 
applied. When air reaches large areas it is 
very painful. It is best to leave dressings for 
the physician unless he is long delayed. After 
applying the soda solution by pieces of linen, 
the parts may be still further protected from 
the air by wrapping in raw cotton and ban- 
daging loosely. 

Usually in severe burns there is considerable 
prostration. Keep the child quiet in a dark- 
ened room and apply hot water bottles wrapped 
in towels or flannel, about the legs and feet, 
and if there is much weakness, give a few 
swallows of strong, hot coffee. 

BURNS FROM ACIDS AND ALKALIES 

Burns caused by acids should be washed 
quickly with water or baking soda solution. 
Those caused by alkalies or lye should be 
washed with a solution of vinegar and water. 
Either kind of burn may then be wrapped in 
soft linen or cheese cloth soaked in boric-acid 
solution. 

WOUNDS 

If the wound is deep or extensive, or if the 
bleeding does not stop easily, it should have 



204 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

surgical attention at once. If the wound is 
slight, apply a few drops of the tincture of 
iodine, then cleanse with boiled water, or one 
of the simple boric-acid solutions. A solution 
may be prepared by dissolving a half teaspoon- 
ful of boric-acid powder in a cup of clean, 
boiled water. It will do no harm to allow the 
wound to bleed a moment; the blood will wash 
away any bits of dirt present, and if the wound 
is a slight, clean cut, further cleansing may be 
unnecessary, other than to wipe clean all about 
the wound. Then, using a bit of clean absorb- 
ant cotton soaked in the boric-acid solution, 
slight pressure on the wound will usually stop 
the bleeding. A small compress of clean linen 
or gauze soaked in the solution is then bound 
on the wound, using a small gauze bandage if 
handy. If there is no pain or inflammation, this 
first dressing may be left on for two or three 
days unless it becomes much soiled. If the 
wound is on a finger, a finger-cot will help to 
keep the dressing clean. Should the wound 
become painful and swollen a physician should 
be consulted. 

LARGE OR DEEP WOUNDS 

When the wound is large or deep, emergency 
care until the physician arrives demands that 
the child be kept quiet, the wound as clean and 
free from contamination as possible, and that 
bleeding be controlled. 



EMERGENCIES OF CHILDHOOD 205 

The wound should be freed from the cloth- 
ing, if necessary cutting the clothing away, 
and the wound exposed to the air. If it is a 
clean-cut wound, and everything about the 
wound is clean, it is best to let it alone until 
the physician arrives. Bleeding may be con- 
trolled by steady pressure maintained on ad- 
jacent blood vessels, or just above the wound. 
A compress of clean linen or gauze soaked in 
boric-acid solution or other mild antiseptic, 
should then be placed over the wound, main- 
taining pressure to stop bleeding if necessary. 

It is unwise to handle such a wound more 
than absolutely necessary until the hands can 
be properly cleansed with warm water, soap 
and brush. All articles used for the dressing 
should be boiled before using. If sterile gauze 
is not available, linen, cotton or cheese-cloth 
used in dressing the wound, should be boiled 
in clean water before using. If cleansing is 
necessary it should be done thoroughly, using 
bits of absorbant cotton or gauze soaked in an 
antiseptic solution. The sterile dressing may 
then be applied and bandaged firmly. 

TEARS OR LACERATED WOUNDS 

Such wounds are very apt to leave scars, and 
unless very slight, medical care is advisable. 
They are also more liable to be contaminated 
by dirt than clean-cut wounds, and need careful 



206 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

cleansing in warm boiled water and antiseptic 
solution. In cleansing, use several bits of ab- 
sorbant cotton squeezed out in antiseptic solu- 
tion. First wipe away all dirt around the 
wound, then with clean bits of cotton cleanse 
the wound thoroughly. The ragged edges 
should be brought together, covered with a 
sterile compress, and bandaged. If the wound 
keeps clean and free from pain or swelling, it 
may be left until healing is complete, or changed 
if much soiled. 

PUNCTURED WOUNDS 

Punctured wounds are made by tacks, nails, 
fish-hooks, splinters, needles or pins. If a piece 
of a fish-hook or needle becomes imbedded in 
the flesh, or if the wound is deep from a nail, 
surgical help is advisable. A fish-hook which 
is in the flesh beyond the barb should never be 
pulled or torn out, but carefully cut out. If a 
needle is imbedded in the flesh, care should be 
taken not to break it in trying to pull it out, 
and it should be examined carefully after re- 
moval to see if it is intact. After removing 
the object the wound should be squeezed in 
warm water, in order that the blood may wash 
out any remaining dirt. A sterile compress 
may then be applied and bandaged. Should 
pain and swelling ensue, medical advice should 
be sought without delay. 



EMERGENCIES OF CHILDHOOD 207 

BROKEN BONES AND DISLOCATIONS 

A broken bone or bone out of place is very 
painful, and usually there is a deformity. The 
limb should be placed in as comfortable a posi- 
tion as possible until a physician can give it the 
care needed. The child should be moved with 
the utmost gentleness, and the broken limb 
supported continually, as the slightest move- 
ment causes severe pain, and the jagged ends 
of the broken bone tear the flesh. 

If a child must be carried some distance, 
something in the way of support should be 
provided. The limb may be bandaged with 
handkerchiefs to a piece of board or paste- 
board, a piece of branch from a tree, or the 
broken leg may be bandaged to the sound one, 
or the arm to the side. At home a broken 
limb may be supported by two pillows, one on 
each side. 

DOG-BITES 

Fortunately most of the bites are very slight, 
often mere abrasions of the skin, and seldom 
cause serious trouble if properly cleansed, and 
covered with a suitable dressing. 

Children are seldom bitten by a dog in their 
own family. It is more often by some other 
dog which dislikes to be petted by children. 
Little folks should be taught to keep away from 
dogs outside of the family, and that even with 



208 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

their own dear home friend, it is best not to 
disturb him while eating, or maul him too much 
on hot summer days. 

Few dogs really become rabid unless horribly 
thirsty, starved or abused. If a child is bitten 
by a dog which is thought to be rabid, it is best 
not to kill the dog immediately unless in self- 
defence, but to keep it in confinement until the 
matter can be passed upon by experts. If it 
is found not to be rabid, much relief will be 
experienced by all concerned. 

The bite of any animal should be squeezed 
out thoroughly under warm water, and thor- 
oughly cleansed with an antiseptic solution. A 
compress soaked in the solution should then be 
applied, and a physician called. 

BLEEDING FROM THE NOSE 

Nosebleed is such a common complaint during 
childhood that we are apt to regard it as of 
little importance. It is true that bleeding from 
the nose is seldom a serious matter, yet, it is 
also true that frequent nosebleed may be a 
symptom of some abnormal condition of the 
nose, or disease of the body, needing attention. 
When they occur very frequently, therefore, 
the child should be taken to a physician for 
thorough examination. 

The most common reason for nosebleed is 
that a crust has been picked away, leaving a 
bleeding point on the septum in one of the 



EMERGENCIES OF CHILDHOOD 209 

nostrils. Usually it is easy to determine from 
which nostril the blood is coming, when firm 
and steady pressure maintained for a short time 
on the affected side will stop the bleeding. 
Steady pressure maintained on the upper lip at 
the outer edge of each nostril, or at the root 
of the nose, will usually stop bleeding. Such 
means failing to stop it, a piece of absorbent 
cotton rolled into a cone and soaked in ice-cold 
water, or a bit of ice thus rolled in cotton, and 
gently inserted into the nostril, over which 
steady pressure is maintained outside, will fre- 
quently serve to stop bleeding. The plug of 
cotton should protrude from the nostril to per- 
mit of easy removal, and the child must not 
blow the nose. At the same time, if the bleed- 
ing continues, the feet may be placed in a mus- 
tard foot-bath, thus diverting the blood from 
the head. 

Usually such home methods will prove effec- 
tive, but if bleeding continues, the nostrils may 
need special treatment by a physician. Chil- 
dren should be taught to keep the fingers away 
from the nostrils. Constant picking produces 
a chronic unhealthy condition, and is apt to 
carry infection to the no§e. 

FOREIGN BODY IN THE NOSTRIL 

Children sometimes put a small object such 
as a pea or bean into a nostril and forget it. 



210 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

After a time chronic inflammation and discharge 
calls attention to it. If the object is not too 
far in, or too firmly held by the swollen mem- 
brane, it may sometimes be expelled by having 
the child blow its nose, while the empty nostril 
is closed by pressing firmly with the finger, or 
by causing the child to sneeze by tickling the 
nostril. Unless such simple means are effective, 
it is best to consult a physician, since injury 
may be caused by unskilled attempts to remove 
the object. 

FOREIGN BODIES IN THE EAR 
Children occasionally put such objects as 
beads, peas or beans into the ear. Unless the 
object can be grasped easily and removed, it 
is best to leave its removal until such time as a 
physician can be consulted. Such an object does 
little harm unless it causes pain or distress, and 
unskilled attempts to remove it may push it 
farther into the canal, where it may produce 
irritation by pressing against the ear-drum. 

Sometimes it happens that an insect crawls 
into the canal of the ear, and causes much dis- 
comfort. Four or five drops of sweet or castor- 
oil should be introduced into the canal, followed 
about half an hour later by syringing with 
warm water. 

INJURIES TO THE EYE 

When a bit of soot or dirt gets into the eye, 
the tendency is to rub it which makes matters 



EMERGENCIES OF CHILDHOOD 211 

worse by causing irritation. The tears will fre- 
quently wash away the object, unless the par- 
ticle adheres to the surface under the upper 
lid. Sometimes by gently lifting the upper lid 
away from the eye and downward over the 
lower lid, then letting go, the lower lashes will 
act as a brush, and sweep away the particle. 

Should this not prove successful the surface 
of the eyeball and under portion of the eyelids 
must be examined. It is a simple procedure to 
pull down the lower lid, and look for a speck 
on its inner surface, or on the surface of the 
eyeball and the corners of the eye. If the par- 
ticle is seen it may be removed with the corner 
of a handkerchief, a bit of cotton twisted about 
a match, or a moistened camel's hair brush. 

If the speck is not found and irritation per- 
sists, the inner surface of the upper lid must 
be exposed to view. To accomplish this the 
eyelid should be gently dried but not rubbed. 
The child is told to look down, the edge of the 
lid and lashes are seized with the thumb and 
forefinger of the right hand, and the lid is 
drawn first forward and downward away from 
the eyeball, then upward over the thumb or 
forefinger of the left hand; the particle may 
then be removed with the corner of a handker- 
chief. It may be necessary to try several times. 

It often happens that no particle is found, 
and yet, the eye still feels irritated and as 
though something remained on the surface. 



212 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

This may be from the irritation produced by 
the particle, and by efforts to remove it. The 
eye is so sensitive that the irritation may re- 
main for a few hours even after the particle 
has been removed. Bathing the eye gently with 
boric-acid solution by allowing the solution to 
trickle from a bit of cotton from the outer to 
the inner corner of the eye, will give consid- 
erable relief. 

LIME OR ACIDS IN THE EYE 

Although not very common, it occasionally 
happens that lime or acid enters the eye and 
causes much pain. A physician should be con- 
sulted as soon as possible, but until he arrives, 
to relieve the pain when lime is in the eye, a 
solution made by adding a teaspoonful of vine- 
gar or lemon juice to a glass of water, may be 
allowed to flow freely into and over the eye. 

When an acid is in the eye, a solution of 
baking-soda, a tablespoonful to a glass of warm 
water, may be used in the same way. After 
the lime or acid is removed by the solution as 
described, a teaspoonful of sweet oil may be 
instilled into the eye, and is very soothing. 

WOUNDS OF THE EYE 

For wounds of the eye cold compresses should 
be applied, and the child kept quiet on a couch 
in a dark room until the physician arrives. 
When the eyes are burned, sweet oil or vase- 



EMERGENCIES OF CHILDHOOD 213 

line should be applied, and the eyes covered 
with a clean, soft handkerchief until the arrival 
of the physician. 

SWALLOWING OF FOREIGN BODIES 

This can often be prevented by watching 
little children, and when they put some object 
in the mouth, removing it at once. With some 
care it is possible to teach children not to put 
articles in the mouth. 

If the object has lodged in the upper part of 
the throat where it can be seen and felt, a 
cautious attempt may be made to remove it 
with the fingers. If it is not seen in the throat 
it has probably passed on into the stomach. If 
some object fails to pass along and causes chok- 
ing, the child should be held by the feet with 
head downward, and slapped upon the back. 
If this fails to dislodge it a physician should be 
summoned at once. 

It is well to be sure that an object has really 
been swallowed. Careful search about the 
child's clothes, in the crib, or wherever it has 
been playing, will often reveal the article sup- 
posed to have been swallowed, and thus prevent 
needless anxiety. 

The child may be allowed to chew and swal- 
low plenty of potato and bread, but under no 
circumstances should a cathartic or an emetic 
be given. If an object has been swallowed the 



214 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

cathartic is liable to hurry it so rapidly through 
the bowel as to cause injury; otherwise, it be- 
comes covered with fecal matter and passes 
harmlessly through the intestine. A foreign 
body usually passes from the bowel in three 
to four days, but occasionally it may take a 
week or ten days. 

DROWNING ACCIDENTS 

Prompt action is sometimes necessary to save 
the life of a person who has been rendered un- 
conscious by drowning, or to prevent severe 
illness due to exposure and cold. Every effort 
should be made to restore consciousness even 
though the chances appear to be hopeless. 

The clothes should be loosened about the 
neck, and the child turned upon the face with 
the body raised higher than the head, in order 
that the water may run out of the mouth and 
throat. At the same time the mouth should 
be gently wiped out with a handkerchief, and 
the tongue pulled forward to allow free 
breathing. The nostrils also should be freed of 
mucus as much as possible. 

ARTIFICIAL RESPIRATION 

The child is turned on the back with shoul- 
ders raised by placing under them a folded 
coat or pillow, the head falling backward. To 
prevent the tongue from falling back in the 
throat and impeding respiration, it should be 



EMERGENCIES OF CHILDHOOD 215 

wrapped in cloth and held well forward. Now 
grasp the arms near the elbows, and swing them 
outward and upward away from the body until 
they meet above the head. This movement 
raises the ribs and expands the chest, and al- 
lows the air to enter the lungs. The arms are 
kept above the head for a moment, pulling upon 
them strongly; they are then brought down to 
the sides and pressed forcibly against the lower 
chest walls, which expels the air from the 
lungs. This is an effort to imitate normal ins- 
piration and expiration, and should be repeated 
slowly and steadily from sixteen to eighteen 
times a minute. With different people taking 
turns, it should be kept up two or three hours, 
until it is certain that the heart as well as the 
pulse has ceased beating. Life has been re- 
stored when all efforts seemed hopeless. 

While artificial respiration is being carried 
out, somebody should remove the clothing, rub 
the body thoroughly dry, and wrap the child 
in warm blankets, applying extra warmth by 
whatever means are available, such as hot- 
water bottles, or by stones heated in fires built 
nearby. To prevent burning the child the hot- 
water bottle or stone should be wrapped in 
newspapers or clothing. In the summer at the 
seashore, hot sand would supply needed heat. 

The limbs should be rubbed from hands and 
feet toward the heart, and when breathing be- 
gins artificial respiration should keep pace 



216 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

with it, evenly and steadily, in order to help and 
not to hinder it. Stimulants and hot drinks in 
small quantities should be given as soon as the 
child can swallow. Unless compelled by cold 
weather, it is best not to move the child from 
the place until recovery is well established. On 
arriving home the child should be given a warm 
bath, a good rubbing, wrapped in warm blan- 
kets, and given a hot drink, in order to avoid 
illness from exposure. 

Many drowning accidents might be prevented 
by keeping boys and girls off rivers and ponds 
until the ice is declared safe. The custom 
existing in some of the larger cities of not per- 
mitting skating on ice until tested and declared 
safe by city or town officers, has much to com- 
mend it. Such supervision of rivers and ponds 
would be the means of an annual saving of 
many precious lives. 

The slogan "All children should learn to 
swim" has been heard quite generally over the 
country of late years; consequently, less chil- 
dren are drowned when bathing and boating, 
but the necessity of every child learning this 
useful art must still be emphasized. 

It would seem wise for children not to go 
boating or canoeing* unless accompanied by an 
older person who can swim. If children are 
not allowed in boats or canoes until they are 
good swimmers, there will be less loss of child 
life by drowning. 



EMERGENCIES OF CHILDHOOD 217 

POISONING 
HOUSEHOLD PRECAUTIONS 

In this as in other accidents, it is often found 
that much suffering and possible loss of life 
might have been prevented by a little care and 
foresight. This is especially so in regard to 
the use and disposal of dangerous drugs, for 
poison most often occurs from the giving of 
some drug out of the wrong bottle, because of 
a misplaced or improperly labelled bottle, or 
from the fact that poisonous substances or 
liquids have been left within easy reach of the 
investigating, curious child. 

After an illness all drugs and medicines 
should be destroyed. Popular tonics and medi- 
cines should be kept where children cannot 
reach them, and soothing syrups should not be 
given to children. Few real poisons are needed 
in any home. The few which are kept should 
be in special bottles, such as the dark blue 
bottle having the word "Poison" indelibly 
printed on the side, as well as the name of the 
poison printed plainly in black letters on white 
background. They should be kept in an entirely 
separate closet. The ordinary harmless house- 
hold remedies should also be kept out of reach 
and in a place especially assigned for the pur- 
pose. Both closets should be kept locked, and 
the key kept in some convenient place, but out 
of reach of childish hands. By following some 



218 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 

such plan as this, an article can be found quick- 
ly when needed, and possibility of accident be- 
comes very remote. 

FIRST AID TREATMENT 

The first thing to do when a child has taken 
poison is to send for a physician. In order that 
he may bring the needed antidote, he should 
be informed if possible as to the nature of the 
poison. If there is doubt as to the kind of 
poison taken, an emetic should be given to 
empty the stomach. If vomiting has already 
commenced it should be encouraged by giving 
an abundance of lukewarm water. To start 
vomiting a teaspoonfulof mustard or common 
salt dissolved in a glass of lukewarm water is 
often effective, or a teaspoonful of syrup of 
ipecac may be given at fifteen minute Intervals 
for two or three doses. Tickling the back of 
the throat will often lead to vomiting. As soon 
as vomiting begins the patient should swallow 
large quantities of tepid water, in order to dilute 
the poison and wash out the stomach. 

After emptying the stomach soothing drinks, 
such as the whites of raw eggs in water, milk, 
barley-water, or flour and water, should be 
given, and the bowels emptied by an enema of 
soapsuds as soon as possible. 

If the child becomes weak and cold, it should 
be wrapped in warm blankets in bed, warmth 



EMERGENCIES OF CHILDHOOD 



219 



applied to the body, and stimulants given. 
Brandy or whiskey may be given in small quan- 
tities as follows: For a child of one year, a 
teaspoonful is diluted with three teaspoonfuls 
of hot water, and half of this mixture is given, 
followed in five minutes by the other half. To 
a child of two years or over, a teaspoonful may 
be given in three teaspoonfuls of hot water. 
Use cold water if hot water is not quickly 
available. If breathing is very feeble or stops, 
artificial respiration as carried out in drowning 
accidents, should be practiced. 

COMMON POISONS AND TREATMENT 

I. For these poisons an emetic is given first. 

POISON SYMPTOMS TREATMENT 

Unknown Emetics ; 

Stimulants; 

Soothing 

liquids. 



Alcohol: 
Brandy, 
Whiskey, 
etc. 



Dizziness, 
unsteady on 
feet, face 
flushed, skin 
cold, pulse 
weak; patient 
may be 
unconscious. 



Emetic; hot 
coffee; aro- 
matic spirits 
ammonia. 
Cold douche to 
face and chest. 
Keep awake 
but do not 



220 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 



POISON 



SYMPTOMS 



TREATMENT 
exhaust by 
forcing to 
walk. As 
recovers, wrap 
warmly in 
blankets in bed. 



Arsenic: 
Present in 
rat poisons, 
vermin 
destroyers, 
Paris green, 
Fowler's 
solution 



Opium: 

in its various 

forms : 



Severe pain 
in stomach, 
purging,^ 
cramps in 
legs, vomit- 
ing, cold 
sweat, 
prostration. 



Drowsiness, 

becoming 

unconscious; 



Emetics; drink 
much luke- 
warm water; 
magnesia in 
large quantity; 
baking-soda, or 
water of 
ammonia. 
Follow with 
whites of raw 
eggs, milk or 
sweet oil. 
Castor oil to 
open bowels. 
Soap and 
water enema. 
Warmth and 
rubbing. 



Emetics; diffi- 
cult to produce 



EMERGENCIES OF CHILDHOOD 



221 



POISON 
Laudanum, 
paragoric; 
certain 
syrups and 
cough 
mixtures 



SYMPTOMS 
pulse first 
strong, then 
weak. 
Breathing 
deep and 
slow, becom- 
ing more and 
more slow 
and shallow. 
Pupils of eyes 
very small, 
face flushed, 
then bluish. 



TREATMENT 
vomiting, but 
should persist. 
Strong coffee. 
Keep awake 
by speaking to 
patient loudly, 
but do not tire 
out by walking. 
Stimulants; 
artificial 
respiration. 



Phosphorus: 
In match- 
heads, 
rat poisons, 
and vermin 
destroyers. 



Severe pain 

in stomach, 

vomiting, 

bloody 

diarrhoea, 

skin dark, 

nose-bleed, 

possibly 

convulsions. 



Emetic, follow 
with epsom 
salts, table- 
spoonful in 
glass of water; 
or magnesia. 
Milk; no oils 
of any kind. 
Stimulants and 
warmth. 



Lead: 

Lead paint, 
White lead 



Metallic taste, 
throat dry, 
and great 



Heaping table- 
spoonful epsom 
salts in glass 



222 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 



POISON 


SYMPTOMS 


TREATMENT 


Sugar of 


thirst. Colic 


of water, 


lead. 


in abdomen, 


Stimulants, 




cold sweat, 


soothing 




cramps in 


liquids. 




legs. Legs are 






sometimes 






paralyzed, and 






may be 






convulsions. 




Ptomaine: 


Nausea, 


Purgative, 


Poisoning 


vomiting, 


epsom salts or 


by decayed 


diarrhoea, 


castor oil. 


meat, fish, 


cold sweat; 


Teaspoonful 


dirty milk, 


pulse weak. 


powdered 


ice-cream 


Severe colic 


charcoal, and 


decayed 


and cramps; 


repeat. 


vegetables. 


prostration 
extreme; skin 
rashes 
common. 




II. Poisons- 


—Emetics not g 


iven first. 


POISON 


SYMPTOMS 


TREATMENT 


Mercury: 


Corrosive 


First give 


Corrosive 


sublimate 


white of egg or 


sublimate, 


very 


whole egg well 


Antiseptic 


irritating. 


beaten. Flour 


tablets. 


When taken, 


and water. 



EMERGENCIES OF CHILDHOOD 



223 



POISON 



SYMPTOMS 

turns mouth, 

lips and 

tongue white. 

Mouth swol- 
len, tongue 
shrivelled; 
metallic taste. 
Pain in abdo- 
men, vomiting 
mucus and 
blood. Bloody- 
diarrhoea, 
cold, wet skin, 
prostration, 
convulsions. 



TREATMENT 
Then give 
emetics; follow 
with soothing 
liquids and 
stimulants. 



Iodine: 



Metallic taste, 
Marked 
prostration, 
severe pain in 
stomach and 
abdomen. 
Violent 
vomiting and 
purging. 



Large amounts 
starch or flour 
mixed with 
water; then 
give emetics; 
follow with 
milk, raw 
whites of eggs. 
Warmth to 
body and 
extremities. 



224 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 



POISON 


SYMPTOMS 


TREATMENT 


Nitrate of 


Pain in mouth 


Teaspoonful 


Silver: 


and stomach. 


table-salt 


Lunar 


Mouth ap- 


dissolved in 


Caustic. 


pears white, 


glass of water. 




then black. 


Milk; then give 




Vomit white, 


an emetic. 




then black. 


Follow with 
soothing 
liquids and 
stimulants. 



III. Poisons for which an emetic should 
never be given. 



POISON 
The Strong 
Corrosive 
Acids: 

1. Acetic 

2. Hydro- 

chloric 
3 Nitric 
4. Sulphuric 

(Vitriol) 



SYMPTOMS 
Severe burn- 
ing pain in 
mouth, throat, 
and stomach. 
Acid destroys 
membrane 
and skin. 
Vomiting and 
diarrhoea. 
Suffocation 
from swelling 
of throat. 
Prostration. 



TREATMENT 
Magnesia or 
chalk in water, 
often, and 
large amounts. 
Baking soda, 
lime, whiting, 
even tooth- 
powder may be 
used as alkali 
to neutralize 
acid. Follow 
with soothing 
liquids, milk, 
raw eggs, olive 
or sweet oil. 



EMERGENCIES OF CHILDHOOD 



225 



POISON 



SYMPTOMS 



TREATMENT 
Stimulants., 
If acid has en- 
tered the nos- 
trils, inhale 
fumes of 
ammonia. 



Oxalic Acid: 
(Salts of 
lemon or 
sorrel) 



Similar to 
corrosive 
acids named 
above, but not 
so much 
burning of 
lips, etc. 



Magnesia, 
chalk and 
water, or lime- 
water to 
neutralize acid. 
Follow with 
two table- 
spoonfuls 
castor oil, and 
stimulants. 



Carbolic Acid. 
Creosote 



Powerful 
corrosive 
poison. Great 
pain and 
vomiting. In 
severe cases, 
patient 
unconscious. 
Characteristic 
odor of acid. 



Wash out 
mouth with 
lime-water, 
pure alcohol or 
Two table- 
spoonfuls of 
epsom salts in 
half glass 
water. Raw 
eggs, castor 



226 THE CHILD FROM TWO TO SEVEN 



POISON 



Strong 
Caustic 
Alkalies: 
Ammonia, 
Quick lime 
or lye, 
Caustic 
Potash, 
Caustic Soda. 



SYMPTOMS 
Turns burned 
membrane 
white if acid 
is pure, black 
if impure. 

Severe burn- 
ing pain in 
mouth, throat 
and stomach. 
Vomiting and 
purging. 
Alkali 

destructive to 
tissues of 
mouth. 
Severe pros- 
tration, and 
suffocation 
due to swell- 
ing of throat. 



TREATMENT 
or sweet oil. 
Stimulants; 
keep warm. 



To neutralize 
the alkali, 
vinegar, 
lemon juice, 
orange juice. 
Tartaric or 
citric acid in an 
abundance of 
water. 
Soothing 
liquids; 
stimulants. 
If unable to 
swallow, inhale 
vinegar from 
handkerchief. 



GAS: 

Illuminating 
or coal gas. 



Depend mostly 
on artificial 
respiration as 
in drowning. 
Ammonia to 
nostrils. 



INDEX 



A Page 

Accidents 201 

Acids, treatment of burns 

from 203 

Adenoid growths 192 

Air, fresh air in the home.... 9 
Alkalies, treatment of burns 

from 203 

Amusements 123, 132, 133 

Antidotes for Poisons 217 to 226 
Apartment houses as homes 

7, 8, 9, 12 

Appetite, lack of 23, 24 

Arches, weak, prevention of 

160, 161 
B 
Bacon, when to give to chil- 
dren 34 

Bag, sleeping, how to make 

61, 62 
Barley gruel, use of, how to 

prepare 40, 41 

Baths and Bathing, 

142, 143, 144, 145 

conveniences for 142 

daily 143, 144 

prevention of colds 144 

shower 144 

soap for 145 

warm 143 

Bed and sleeping room 59, 60, 61 
Bedtime stories, choice of 59, 60 
Bedwetting, Causes and Pre- 
vention 184, 185, 186 

Beef juice, as part of child's 
diet 41, 42 



Page 
scraped, for young chil- 
dren 34 

Bleeding from nose 208 

from wounds 204, 205 

Blocks, Building, how to make 

set of 83, 84 

Body-building, food for 19 

Body, care of 141-163 

Bones broken 207 

Boric acid solution 150 

Bottle, weaning from 41 

Bowels, care of the 

181, 182, 183 

Breads 31, 32 

Breakfast foods, cereals 30 

Broths and soups 33 

Bumps and Bruises, care of 201 
Burns, care of, first aid 

201, 202, 203 

Butter for children 32, 33 

C 

Cake 32 

Candy and sweets 38 

Care of Child's body 141 

Ears 150 

Eyes ...148 

genitals 147 

hair 147 

mouth 153 

nails, biting the 195 

nose and throat 151, 152 

skin 141 

teeth, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 

158, 159 

Carrots « 35 



227 



228 



INDEX 



Page 

Cereals 30 

dry, ready to serve 30 

cooking of 30 

Changeableness in children.... 93 

Chickenpox 171 

Child, the city 8 

nature, characteristics of 

90, 91, 92, 93, 94 

sick, care of 179, 180 

undernourished, under- 
weight 19, 21, 25 

Childhood, common emergen- 
cies of 201, 221-226 

Children, feading of 19 

diseases and disorders of.. 167 

play activities of 67 

training of 87 

Circumcision 147 

City Child, Materials and 

tools for play 79 

Clay modeling 81 

Cold baths 144, 145 

Colds, causes of 189, 190 

prevention of 191 

Cold weather sports 76 

Common foods arranged in 

tables 41 

Common diseases of child- 
hood 167 

Common accidents of child- 
hood . 201 

Common poisons and their 

antidotes -.219 

Constipation 181 

causes and prevention 181 

changes in food will help 182 
fruits and vegetables in....l82 



Page 

measures for relief... 183 

Contagious diseases ...167 

care of children having.. ..180 
prevention and control of 175 

Convulsions, first aid in 186 

Correction, methods of 106 

Cough, whooping 170 

Country life, advantages of 

9, 70, 76, 78 
Crayons, watercolors and 

pencils 81 

Cream in diet for children.... 32 

Cross-eye 148 

Croup, spasmodic, relief of 

188, 189 

D 

Daily nap, importance of.... 58 

time for 57 

during school years 58 

Dark moods unwholesome.... 129 
Deafness, a cause of back- 
wardness in school 151 

Defective teeth, results of 

153, 154, 155, 156 
Deficient nourishment, re- 
sults of 21, 24, 25, 27 

Deformities, of feet from ill- 
fitting shoes 160 

of jaw as result of thumb- 
sucking 155 

of teeth 154, 155 

Delicate children, bathing 

of 144 

care of 125, 126 

feeding of 24, 25 

sleep of 58, 59 



INDEX 



229 



Page 

Dentistry, importance of 159 

Desserts allowable for chil- 
dren 38 

Development, conditions ne- 
cessary for 2 

Diet for growing children.. 27 
must be carefully chosen.... 27 

and the teeth 156, 157 

regulating the 22, 23 

lists for feeding children 

40-49 
(See also FOOD) 
Digestion impaired by defec- 
tive teeth 153, 154 

Diphtheria 173, 174 

making children immune 

to 178 

Schick Test and preven- 
tion of 178 

Discharging ears 151, 173 

Discipline 106, 107 

in the prevention of nerve 

disorders 126 

Disease, prevention of 

167, 168, 169, 175, 180 
Disease germs, how they get 

into the body 154 

how they spread 175 

Diseases, common, of chil- 
dren 167-175 

new point of view 167 

prevention of 175, 176, 178 

Disorders, common, of chil- 
dren 181-197 

nerve and mind, preven- 
tion of 121-137 

Dog-bites, first aid 207, 208 



Page 
Dressings for wounds 

203, 204, 205 
Drinking water, importance 

of 45 

Drowning accidents, first 

aid 214, 215, 216 

E 

Earache 187, 188 

Ears, care of 150, 151 

discharging 151 

foreign bodies in 210 

Eating between meals, results 

of 23, 24, 25, 50, 51 

Education 87, 111, 112 

and discipline 104-111 

by companionship with 

parents 112, 113 

imitation and observation 

111, 112 
early years, importance of 

87, 89, 111 

in the home 87, 109, 110 

study of child nature.. ..90-95 
training for steady nerves 
and healthy mind ....121-137 

Eggs 31 

Emergencies, common 201 

Emetics, in spasmodic croup 189 

in poisoning accidents 218 

English, importance of teach- 
ing correct 110 

Enlarged tonsils 193 

Entertainments for children, 
injury to nerves from 

public 132-133 

Epidemics, prevent spread 
of 175-178 



230 



INDEX 



Page 
Equipment for play and oc- 
cupation h». 67-84 

Evaporated milk 29 

Example, power of, in edu- 
cation Ill, 112 

Exercise 71 

for girls 76 

outdoor, 76, 77, 78, 125 

Exercises for weak feet and 

flat-foot 163 

Eye, 

acids in the, first aid 212 

foreign bodies in the 211, 212 

lime in the 212 

wounds of the 212 

Eyes care of 148, 149, 150 

Eyestrain, prevention of 149 



Facts about weight and 

height 19, 20, 21 

Faith, teach, instead of fear 132 
Family life, high ideals of 

111, 112, 113 

Fat in whole milk 32 

proper kinds for children 

32, 33 
Father, influence of in fam- 
ily life 21, 22 

Feet, care of 160-163 

prevention of deformities 

of ....: 162, 163 

Filling the teeth 159 

Finger-nails, biting of 195 

Finger-sucking 193, 194, 195 

Fire-place, desirability of in 
the home 13 



Page 
Fireworks, danger to chil- 
dren from 202 

First aid in acidents 201 

Fish 34 

Fish-hook, care of wounds 

from 206 

Flat foot, correction of 

161, 162, 163 
Food, 

adapted to age of child.... 22 
cultivation of liking for 

wholesome 24 

for growing children 27 

Foods, 

body-building 19 

cereal 30 

description of 27-39 

groups of 31-38 

lists of, for children dur- 
ing second year 39-44 

from third to seventh 

year 45-48 

Foreign bodies in the ear....210 

in the eye 211, 212 

in the nose 209 

swallowing of 213 

Fractures 207 

Fresh air, importance of....9, 10 
in living and play-rooms 10, 11 

in sleeping rooms 11, 61 

Fruits 37, 38 

cooked 37 

in diet for children 37 

when they should be avoid- 
ed 38 

Fundamental principles in 
feeding children 22 



INDEX 



231 



Page 
Furniture for the playroom 

14, 15 
G 

Gardening for children 78 

Gargling of throat 179 

German measles 170 

Girls, outdoor life for 

76, 78, 125 
should not go without 

breakfast 25 

Growth and development, 
conditions necessary for 

normal 2 

H 

Habits, bad 193, 195, 196 

good, of cleanliness.... 

117, 141, 159 
obedience and self-control " 

95-100 
regularity of bowel move- 
ments 181-183 

of proper eating 22-27 

Hair, care of 147, 148 

short 148 

Hands, keeping clean 146 

Hardening of body 126 

Healthy, keeping the chil- 
dren 141 

Heating the home 12, 13 

Heights and weights of chil- 
dren 19, 20, 21 

Hemorrhage from nose 208 

from wounds 204, 205 

Heredity, influence of 122 

Home, choosing the ......7, 8, 9 

sunshine and fresh air in 
the 9 



Page 

training 9, 87, 137 

Household precautions against 

poisoning 217 

Hygiene and care of the 

body 141-163 

I 

Ideals of cleanliness ....117, 141 

of Education and Training 

87, 88, 111, 112 

Illness, prevention of 180 

signs of 180 

Imagination in children 131, 132 
Imitation in early education 111 

Individual temperament 94 

Indigestion, acute 48, 49 

chronic 49, 50 

due to improper habits of 

eating 50 

Indoor play ....«, 80 

blocks for 83, 84 

equipment for 81, 82 

(See also chapter "Play 
and Growth" 67) 
Infection, prevention of 175-178 

Infectious colds 189, 190, 191 

diseases 167-178 

Inherited characteristics 122 

Injections 182, 183 

for worms 184 

Instinctive desire for some- 
thing to do 108 

Instruction concerning per- 
sonal cleanliness 117 

reproduction 1 13-1 18 

Irregular teeth, causes and 

prevention of 154, 155 

Iron in food, 



232 



INDEX 



Page 

in fruits ».—..........■.■ 35 

in vegetables M 37 

Isolation in contagious di- 
seases 175 

of sick child ....... 169, 180 

L 

Leg, broken, first aid 207 

Light, good, for reading 149 

List of foods, 

for children during second 

year .„ 39-44 

from third to seventh 

year 45-48 

of poisons and antidotes 

217-226 
M 

Malnutrition 19, 21, 25 

Mannerisms, transient of 

children 93 

Manners Ill, 112 

acquired by imitation 112 

table 23, 25 

Mastery, self- learned early 

96, 127, 128 

Masturbation 196 

Matches, danger of, to chil- 
dren 201, 202 

Materials, play 67-84 

for Indoor 80-84 

Outdoor 71, 72, 78 

Meals, number ol 39, 42, 45 

regular times for 40-46 

Measles 169, 170 

German 170 

Meats, best for children 34 

cooking of 34 

stews 21 



Page 

substitutes 33 

Mental hygiene of childhood 

121, 137 
Methods of punishment 106, 107 

of ventilation 10, 11 

Milk 27 

amount required per day... .28 
body-building qualities of 

28, 29 

goat's 29 

invaluable as food for chil- 
dren 28 

is a food, not a beverage.. 28 

pasteurized 29 

substitutes for 29 

unheated or raw 29 

Mind, charateristics 'of child's 

90-95 

development of Ill, 112 

early training of Ill 

hygiene of the 121-137 

Mineral elements in food 35, 37 

Mischief, in children 108, 109 

to prevent 108 

Modeling materials 81 

Moisture of air in heated 

rooms 12 

Molars, first, importance of 158 
Moods, dark, in children.... 129 

causes of 129 

prevention of 129 

Mother, care of 89, 90 

Mouth breathing 192 

Mouth, care of 153, 194, 195 

Moving pictures, influence of, 

on children 133 

Mumps 172 



INDEX 



233 



Page 
Muscular development from 

play 125 

N 

Nails, biting the 195 

Nap, daily 57, 58 

Nasal douche, caution about 

use of 152 

Nature, child, characteristics 

of 90-94 

Needle-wound 206 

Nerves, disorders of, on the 

increase 121 

preventive work in the 

home 121-128 

Nervous system, care of the 

childs 121-137 

instability of child's 122 

Nose, care of 151, 152 

Nose-bleed 208 

Nostrils, clogged 152 

foreign body in 209 

O 
Obedience and self-con- 
trol 95-102 

Occupation, children need 

68, 108, 138 
Oil and gas heaters, tempo- 
rary use only 12 

Oil for clogged nose 152 

Origin of life, instruction 

concerning 113-118 

Outdoor play 71, 77, 78 

apparatus for 71, 72, 78 

clothing for 76, 125 

girls need 76, 125 

regardless of cold or 
rain 125 



Page 
(See also Play and 
Growth, 67) 

Outdoors, sleeping 61, 62 

Oversensitive, teaching chil- 
dren not to be 135 

P 
Parenthood, new ideals of 

4, 87, 112 
Parents, as companions of 

their children 113 

as teachers 87, 88 

relation of, to children 

88, 89, 130 

Pasteurized milk 29 

Pastry, use of, in diet for 

children 38 

Perception, slowness of, in 

children 94 

Play, a fundamental need of 

the child 67-69, 84 

a factor in education and 

growth 67-69 

adult's conception of 68 

child's conception of 68 

indoor, material for 80-84 

outdoor 76-78, 125 

room 13, 14 

with other children, neces- 
sary 79 

Playmates, children need 

79, 134, 135 
Playthings, for indoor play 

80-84 

for outdoor play 76-78 

made at home 71, 72, 82 

Poisoning 217-226 

first aid 218 



234 



INDEX 



Page 
household precautions 

against 217 

Praise, use of, in training 

of children 97 

Precociousness, not desir- 
able 132 

Punishment 103-109 

methods of 106, 107 

Q 

Questions of children 

110, 113-118 
about reproduction and 

sex 113-118 

answer simply and truth- 
fully 113-118 

R 

Rain, outdoor play in 125 

Reason, appeal to child's, ....103 
Recreation and rest for the 

mother 89-90 

Regularity in life of child 26, ZJ 

of bowels 181-183 

of meals 41^ 48 

of sleep „ 55-58 

Religious training, begin- 
nings of 131, 132 

Reproduction and sex, instruc- 
tion concerning 113-118 

Respiration, artificial, in 

drowning 214-215 

Responsibility of parents 

87, 88, 21, 22, 112, 113 
Rest, importance of, for 

children 55 

for the mother 89, 90 



Page 
Restlessness of children 

67, 135, 136 
often due to lack of oc- 
cupation 108 

Reverence, teaching of 132 

Room, children's 13-15 

S 
Sand-box, directions for mak- 
ing 72 

playthings for 72, 73 

Scalds and burns, first aid 

202, 203 

Scarlet fever 172, 173 

Schedules for feeding chil- 
dren 41-47 

Scolding, useless ....104, 105, 112 
Second year, feeding dur- 
ing 39-45 

lists of foods for 41-44 

schedules for meals during 

41-44 
Self-control, early lessons 

in 96, 127, 128 

Service to others, teaching.. ..70 
Sex, instruction concerning 

113-118 
Shoes, proper fitting of 160-162 

Sick child, care of 179, 180 

Sight, protection of 148-150 

Simplicity, desirable in 

child's life 64, 132, 133 

Skin, care of 141 

Sleep, child's need of 55, 56 

conditions favorable to 

sound 59, 61 

disturbed, causes of 62, 63 

during first two years 56, 57 



INDEX 



235 



Page 
from third to seventh 

year 57, 58 

Sleeping bag 61, 62 

Sleeping outdoors 61 

Small tasks for children .... 70 

Soaps, for the bath 145 

Soups and stews 34 

Spasms (see convulsions) 

first aid 186 

Spasmodic croup 188, 189 

Sports, outdoor 71, 77, 78 

Sterilized milk 29 

Stories for children 59, 131 

Sunshine in living rooms.. ..9, 10 

Sweets 38 

Swimming, teaching children 77 

T 
Tables and lists : 

diet during second year 39-44 
from third to seventh year 

45-48 
weights and heights of chil- 
dren 19-21 

Tasks, small, for children 70 

Teachers, Parent- 87, 88 

Teeth, care of 153-159 

cleaning the 158 

food and the 156 

irregular 154-155 

second or permanent 157 

Temper, causes of 91, 92 

outbreaks of 91, 92 

what to do ....92, 107, 127, 128 
Temperament, individual, of 

child 94 

Tendencies, inherited 122 

Third to 7th yr., diet from 45-48 



Page 

Throat, care of ~...152, 176 

Thumb-sucking, to break ha- 
bit of 193-195 

Thunder and Lightning, teach 

children not to fear 132 

Tonsils, enlarged 193 

Tool-box for children, con- 
tents o^ 75 

Tools, garden, for children 78 

Toys 80-84 

Training (See also Education) 

early 87, 89, 111 

home 87, 109, 110 

Truthfulness 109, 110, 111 

U 
Undernourished children .... 19 
Underweight, causes of 

19, 20, 21 
V 

Vaccination 178, 179 

Vegetables, for children 35 

cooking of 36 

Voice, cultivation of low, 

pleasant 110 

W 

Water, children need 45 

Water-colors for children 81 
Weight and height, Table of 19 
facts about, of children 20, 21 
Wetting of bed, causes and 

prevention 184-186 

Whooping cough 170 

Worms, causes and preven- 
tion 183, 184 

Wounds 203-207 

First aid for various 

203-207, 212 



